Where Does The Truth Lie?
by Elle Winters
Summary: Ron and Hermione still aren't together and Draco Malfoy is on the run.But that is all set to change when an accident propels Harry, Ron and Hermione back to the Marauders' time.History may never be the same again...
1. Kisses, Cauldrons and Other Weird Things

_Dark eyes sparkling_

_Cold heart beating_

_Love never ending_

Hogwarts is really not the place it used to be, I thought regretfully, stepping over shards of broken glass, careful not to slice my foot on the jagged edges. Five years after the Great War had ended and still no-one had bothered to re-establish Hogwarts to its rightful place as the best school in Europe. I sighed sadly, reminiscing about all the good times Harry, Ron and I had had in this castle. But, I reflected, as the years had past, even the good times had been dampened by the ever present evil, constantly trying to weave its darkness into the homes and lives of all who had lived here. Many of my fellow classmates had been killed in the ensuing battle – Dean Thomas, Ernie MacMillan, Angelina Johnson and Percy Weasley among them, not to mention all those I had never acquainted myself with. The Order suffered losses too – Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mundungus Fletcher being just two who perished in the final battle. All fought courageously and helped Harry to secure a strong position in which to kill Lord Voldermort.

But with heartbreak and sadness, joy and love always follows.

Harry and Ginny, despite their year apart when Harry's only reason to live seemed to be to murder Voldermort and avenge so many that he had loved and lost, were reunited in the wake of Voldermort's death and married three years later. They now have a beautiful baby boy whom they named Sirius James Potter. Harry is head auror at the ministry of magic and Ginny is about to return to work as an agony aunt and was recently offered the chance to host her own, live, love hour on the WWN. She accepted and her celebrity is increasing.

Mrs Weasley is, of course, chief baby-sitter and hardly lets Sirius out of her sight. Mr Weasley has returned to his job as head of The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, although his pay-packet has increased significantly, due, most likely, to the fact that he saved the lives of hundreds of ministry workers when he defused and discarded of a muggle bomb, planted by the Death Eaters, who had assumed no witch or wizard would ever understand what it was and how it worked – years of Mr Weasley tinkering around with plugs and wires had paid off. Thankfully he and Percy made up before Percy was killed by Narcissa Malfoy, herself now dead, having been struck by a mysterious illness months after the battle.

Lucius Malfoy is, unfortunately, alive and kicking, but not quite as comfortably as he would like – he is currently working as a waiter at a 2 muggle hotel, _without _his wand – he has been stripped of all his money and status and his magical powers have been binded. He can no longer enter any kind of magical society.

Hagrid still lives on Hogwarts grounds, his home having been enlarged by me to accommodate Grawp and the two of them work as joint gamekeepers. Hagrid and Madame Maxime are still great friends and I personally think that one day it will develop even further…

Severus Snape saved my life and Ron's before killing Rufus Scrimgeour and is now spending the rest of his days in a secure ward at St. Mungo's – I don't think we'll ever know or understand why he did the things he did and where his true allegiance really lay. All I can do is be grateful to him for saving my life and leave the past as it is.

And Draco Malfoy?

Well, he's where our story really begins…

"Ron," I shouted up the stairs of our two-bedroom, detached house, situated right next-door to Harry and Ginny's five-bedroom mansion (we got the caretaker's house, although the only care taken is not to smash any windows when Ron and Harry get a little too vigorous playing Quidditch).

No answer.

"RON!" I yelled impatiently, "Get your bum down here, there's someone to see you!"

Stamp stamp, crash crash, slam, thud thud thud and finally Ron appeared at the top of the stairs, looking thoroughly disgruntled, holding self-consciously onto a towel wrapped around his middle, which was in danger of falling down if he made any sudden movements.

"What?" he asked, none too politely.

I raised my eyebrows.

"Don't take that tone with me. I know perfectly well that crash I heard just now was you pulling down the brand-new shower curtain I had put up yesterday, so if I were you, I would be very nice to me unless you want me to curse you with some ugly red boils, which I'm sure would clash _spectacularly_ with your hair. Are you getting what I'm saying?"

Surprisingly enough, Ron grinned, with a none to innocent gleam in his eye.

"I love it when you talk like that," he said with a wink, walking down the stairs, all thoughts of covering his modesty gone.

"Ron, I can almost see right up that towel!" I said embarrassedly, averting my eyes.

"You love it," he smirked, stepping off the foot of the stairs and walking behind me.

He slipped his arms around my waist and began kissing my neck. I felt the towel fall down, as it landed at his feet.

"Um, Ron…" I began.

"Mmhmm?" he said against my neck.

"Uh, your Mum's in the living room and the door's not shut."

"What?!" he said spinning round, instantly realising his mistake and diving for his dropped towel just as Mrs Weasley said,

"Don't worry Ron; I've seen it all before!"

I turned round to see Ron's face turning an adorable shade of scarlet, the towel clutched tightly in front of him, like a shield.

"And so I said to Mrs Clearwater, 'just because Percy is not alive to support Penelope and Jessica, it doesn't mean that we, that is to say, Arthur and I, won't do our utmost to help Penelope, be that financially, or just by acting as baby-sitters once in a while!'. But of course, Mrs Snooty-Pants said, rather rudely I might add, that Penelope had all the help she needed, but that the thought was appreciated!"

"'Appreciated'," Mrs Weasley repeated disgustedly, shaking her head, "She wouldn't know what appreciation was if it came up and bit her on the bottom! She always did consider Percy lesser than her darling Penelope. But my Percy died honourably and those who knew him should not be ashamed in admitting so-" she said angrily, her voice catching in her throat.

Noticing the warning signs, I said quickly, "Indeed he was and I most definitely am not ashamed to say that. You've got a good family Mrs Weasley."

Mrs Weasley smiled, adding, "Molly dear, please- you're twenty three now and really don't need to act like I'm superior to you in any way."

I returned her smile warmly.

"Sorry, you'd think by now I would've got that into my head, but I think you're always going to be Mrs Weasley to me. You're Ron's mum after all and I treat you with the same respect I show to my own parents."

"You're a lovely girl Hermione and I know Ron thinks so too. I'm sure he'd love to put a ring on your finger someday."

I could feel myself turning pink as I hastily tried to disillusion Mrs Weasley of this crazy idea.

_Ron_, want to marry _me_? We weren't even dating for goodness sakes!

"Mrs Weasley, believe me, Ron does NOT want to marry. I know that the scene you witnessed about 15 minutes ago seemed like we were pretty close, but Ron had just been inhaling a little too much of the love potion I'm trying to brew for Fred and George's latest love-line; you know, the one Ginny is endorsing. He really, REALLY, doesn't want me."

More's the pity, I found myself suddenly thinking.

NO! I scolded myself – if you date Ron, there'll be no going back.

Mrs Weasley smiled knowingly.

"You just keep telling yourself that dear."

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open as I gaped soundlessly at her.

Was she really implying what I thought she was?

Just as I was about to ask her exactly what she meant by 'you just keep telling yourself that dear', Ron entered, wearing a well-fitted t-shirt and some baggy stone-washed jeans.

Five years had certainly done wonders to Ron's physique: He had finally bulked out, meaning he no longer looked tall and gangly. Gone was the boyish round face and awkward stance and in its place remained a handsome, confident young man.

Oddly, at the sight of Ron, my stomach felt like it was doing a back-flip…

Of course, it was just because we had been talking about him… it didn't mean that I was in love with him… Did it?

To my dismay, Ron sat down right next to me, his leg inadvertently brushing against mine as he did so, sending shivers all down my spine.

I must've noticeably tensed, because I saw Mrs Weasley smile a little too smugly for my liking.

I was really going to have to have a word with her…

"So," said Ron, cutting through my thoughts, "What d'you want?"

"Ron!" I said indignantly. His physical appearance may have improved since he left Hogwarts, but his manners sure hadn't.

"What?!" he asked me in genuine bewilderment.

I rolled my eyes and said to Mrs Weasley, "What your son is really trying to say is that he hopes you're well and wonders whether this is merely a social visit, or whether you have some news that may interest us."

I could feel Ron's gaze on me – I expect he still couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong, or why I had elaborated on what he obviously believed to do exactly what I had said he was asking, just with fewer words.

I really pitied him sometimes.

Mrs Weasley, seemingly immune to Ron's rudeness (or perhaps she was just used to it) cleared her throat and said, "Well Ron, this is not a social visit as such, but I bring good news."

Intrigued, I leant forward, just as Ron did, our hands landing on the same spot on the sofa, his on top of mine. A huge jolt, like electricity, sprung up my arm, causing me to pull my hand away.

Ron stared at me, surprised by my sudden movement, but I could've sworn I saw a little bit of hurt flash in his eyes.

But before I could really look, he broke my gaze and turned back to look at his mother.

Slightly stunned, I quickly collected my thoughts and turned back to Mrs Weasley too, just in time for me to hear her exclaim joyously,

"Fleur and Bill are having TWINS!"

I glanced at Ron who looked like he'd been kicked.

Ever since Ron had first set eyes on Fleur Delacour, he had been smitten. Even when she became engaged to his brother, Bill, he always vied for her attention. Eight years later, he still nurses a soft-spot for her, although I like to think it's the vela part that makes him so attracted to her, rather than her drop-dead beauty; beauty that I could only dream of having.

NOT that I care whether Ron thinks I'm pretty or not! I'd just like to have the stability of knowing that I don't repulse people with my unattractiveness.

Admittedly, my looks have improved somewhat since Hogwarts. My bushy brown hair is now always sleek and easy to be styled, thanks to Fred and George's new Wonder Witch Hair Care line. My body too has changed, although that's more down to maturing than to any magical line. I'm now a curvaceous Size 10 and no longer walk around with a bag of at least twenty books slung over my shoulder, which has improved my posture immensely. I can even pull off heels, a feat I was far too embarrassed to even attempt when I was at Hogwarts.

Someone clearing their throat jerked me out of my musings. I blinked and looked at Ron, who was hastily trying to look as though the news had pleased him and not as though he would've liked to have thrown a tantrum.

"Um," he said gruffly, "Yeah, well, uh, say congratulations to er, Bill and… and Fleur."

He tried to smile, although it ended up looking more like a grimace.

I turned around and smiled at Mrs Weasley too.

"That's wonderful news! Aww, TWO more grandchildren to add to the family!"

Mrs Weasley grinned, adding snidely,

"And may there be many more," she said pointedly to Ron and I.

I saw Ron go very red out of the corner of my eye.

I hastily stood up and mumbled, "I'll just get some wine to celebrate!" and dashed off into the kitchen, where I slammed the door close and leant up against it, trying to pull myself together.

This is bad, bad! I can't even be in a room with Ron anymore without one of us turning red or someone suggesting we get together.

It's WRONG! Ron and I have been the best (well, mostly) of friends for twelve years now and nothing will change that, NOTHING!

I hope.

Or do I?

ARRGGGHHH!!!

Ok, let's just pretend, for a second only, that Ron and I were to get together – what would happen?

Well, I found myself thinking instantly, we'd argue non stop!

So very, very true.

But, well, what if we didn't? Argue so much I mean. Could we ever have a relationship that exceeded just friendship?

As I was about to ponder this very frightening (and, I'm ashamed to admit, slightly exhilarating) possibility, someone tried to open the door, causing me to jump out of my skin and promptly whack my head on the bottom of a cauldron hanging on the back of the door.

"Ow, buggery ow ow ow!! Mother of all things magical, my head!"

In my screaming, I'd backed away from the door and the person who had been trying to open it managed to enter.

It was Ron.

Even with my eyes streaming, I could make out Ron's concerned face. He shut the door behind him and headed towards me.

Totally mortified, I turned away and tried, to no avail, to hide how much

a. I was in pain

and

b. I was embarrassed.

"Hey," he asked worriedly, "Are you alright?!"

Somehow in my pain I managed to find room to think, "Does it LOOK like I'm alright?!?! I've probably got a cauldron-shaped indent in the top of my head now!"

However, to Ron, all I managed to gasp was, "Yeah, I'm fine," before a huge spasm of pain shot through my head, causing me to fall forward. Ron caught me and carefully lowered me to the floor, where I sat for about five minutes with my eyes screwed tightly shut, willing myself not to vomit, before Ron realised he could cast a pain-killing spell, which, thankfully, he immediately did.

Despite my new pain-free existence, I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see Ron's face, which was probably a mixture of concern, disgust and amusement. I felt Ron move beside me and thought he was getting up to leave, but then I felt a hand gently touch my face, making me flinch and open my eyes in surprise.

Ron's face was about three inches away from mine, his eyes oddly unreadable as his gaze bore into mine.

Shocked at his close proximity, I began to pull back, but Ron's hand flew out and caught my arm. I stared at him, startled.

"Hermione," he began huskily, "Please don't pull away. Just listen to me for a second. Earlier, when I was kissing your neck, I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I want you to know that it was the effects of the love potions you've been brewing in the bathroom and not because I'm… I'm in LOVE with you or because I'm a horny bastard!"

I couldn't help laughing at the last bit, but even as I did, I felt my stomach twist in disappointment.

So, he didn't love.

Drat.

I mean good!

Don't I?

Ron looked as though he was waiting for me to reply to what he had just said, so I forced a grin and said,

"I know that. No worries."

Looking immensely relieved that I wasn't cross (and, perhaps, that I didn't think he was in love with me) leant forward and gave me a hug.

For some reason, unfathomable to me, I felt as though I never wanted to let him go – I could've spent the rest of eternity nuzzled up to his neck, breathing in the delightful smell of his aftershave.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and end it did. Ron let go of me and stood up, already muttering about how starving he was and why we were stupid not to have hired a house-elf, completely oblivious to the tender moment we had just shared.

Well, some things never change.


	2. Tantrums, Tea and Truths

**Sorry it took so long to update (I have other stories going too:P) Here is Chapter 2- Enjoy!!**

_Truth is found out_

_No matter how hard_

_It tries to stay secret_

A few weeks after the kissing neck whacking head on cauldron bottom holding Ron so close that I never wanted to let him go fiasco, we received a visit from Harry and Ginny, with a gurgling Sirius in tow.  
"Oh he is so CUTE!" I cooed, undoing the straps on his buggy, and lifting him out gently.

Cradling him in my arms, I said to Ginny,"How old is he now?"

Ginny, her head buried in her bag, searching for Sirius' bottle, replied in a muffled voice,"Um, nine and a half months."

I looked at her, surprised."That old already?! Wow, time really does fly!"

"You're telling me!" a voice behind me affirmed.

I looked over my shoulder, and was met by the sight of two bare chests.

Harry and Ron, both clutching a beer in their hand, plonked down on the sofa next to me. Ron pulled the tab off his can, and downed half of the beer in one go.

Burping appreciatively, Ron continued,"Time is the best chaser the England team has ever had, including Beckett, and anyone with eyes would have to admit that he is bloody brilliant! So long as Time carries on playing the way he is, England'll have the world cup in the bag!"

I glanced at Ginny, who had finally found Sirius' bottle, and laughed.

The look on her face was priceless. She looked completely revolted.

"Ron," she began, distaste etched all over her face, "Harry. Why do you always feel accustomed, when in the company of each other, to remove your shirts and inflict on us your blindingly white torsos, which have not seen the light of day since the dawn of time?"

Harry, who was in the middle of draining the last few droplets of his beer, spluttered and gagged. Coughing, he lowered his can, wiped his face, and replied indignantly to Ginny,"Excuse me? A 'blindingly white torso'? You can hardly talk Ginny, you're a red head!"

Ginny fired up at once. "Oh, yeah Harry?! Well, at least I get up in the middle of the night and attend to my son when he's screaming his lungs out! You just happily carry on snoring, completely oblivious to the full blown fog-horn going off next door! Do you just not care?! Or do you think that, as an auror, you're somehow better than me, because you fight bad guys? Well, let me tell you something Harry Potter – you're not!"

She then burst into tears, and began sobbing into the sleeve of her jumper.

Completely stunned by this sudden outburst, I looked at Harry for help.

He was looking at Ginny with a slightly dazed look on his face. I nudged him and he seemed to snap out of it. Getting up off the sofa, he walked slowly round to where Ginny was and knelt in front of her.

I signalled to Ron that we should leave them to it, and, for once, he actually got the message.

I placed Sirius back in his buggy, and followed Ron into the kitchen, closing the door quietly behind me.

"Bloody hell! What was that all about?!" Ron burst out, as soon as the door clicked into place.

"Ron, keep your voice down!" I said through gritted teeth

Rolling his eyes, Ron lowered his voice to a whisper."There, happy now!"

I glared at him, then turned my back and walked over to the kettle. I picked it up and filled it with some water. Once I had switched it on to boil, I turned back to face Ron.

"It sounds to me," I said quietly, "Like Ginny has been having one too many broken nights, and Harry hasn't had any."

"We are talking sleep, right?" Ron grinned.

My jaw dropped.

"RON!!"

"Alright, alright," he said, hands raised. "Well, I don't knwo why Ginny is complaining - it's a woman's place to look after the baby!"

I opened my mouth, appalled.  
"Ron!" I said, charging forwards and whacking him round the head repeatedly with my hand, "You sexist PIG!"

"Ow! Stop it, you mad bat!" Ron yelled, trying to push me away.

"YOU," I snarled angrily, "ARE. THE. MOST. HORRID. MAN. I. HAVE. EVER. HAD. THE. MISFORTUNE. OF. MEETING!"

I gave him one final thump, and then backed away, breathing hard.

Ron looked up from underneath his arms, which he'd thrown over his head to protect himself from my attack.

"Hermione," he gasped. "You are VIOLENT!"

"Well," I replied nastily, "You deserved it!"

Ron let his arms drop to his sides, and straightened up.

"Oh?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "And did I deserve to be attacked that time you set a flock of canaries on me in our 6th year?"

I felt myself turn red at the memory of it. God, it must've been so obvious why I did it.

To hide my discomfort, I stuck my chin out, and replied stonily,"Yes. You did."

Ron's eyebrows rose even higher.

"And why, may I ask, was that?"

Ok, maybe it wasn't obvious. Bollocks.

What am I supposed to say now?!

"Um," I stammered, desperately trying to think of an excuse.

Thankfully, I was saved by the whistling of the kettle, which had just boiled.

I hastily turned round, and began making some tea. Sadly this distraction was not big enough to divert Ron's attention.

"Hermione? Answer please?"

I looked up at the ceiling, cursing my bad luck.

The canary incident happened five years ago, and he chooses to bring it up _now_?

My life sucks.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to face him.

"You want to know the truth?" I asked.

Ron looked at me like I was completely dense.

"Well, duh," he replied.

Sighing, I took the plunge.

"I attacked you with the canaries, because, at the time, I was jealous and angry that you'd been making out with Lavender Brown in front of me."

Ron stared at me, evidently shocked by this revelation.

"You, you," he stammered, "You fancy me?!"

"_Fancied_," I corrected him quickly. "Not _fancy_. That would suggest present tense, and I cannot express enough how much I _don't _fancy you anymore!"

Ron look slightly abashed after this statement, although it probably had more to do with the force of how I said it, rather than what I said.

But, come on, I'm not exactly going to admit that I fancy him now, am I?

Not that I do. Fancy him I mean.

"Uh, ok," stuttered Ron.

He seemed quite at a loss for words, so I shoved a mug of tea in his hands, to cover the awkward silence between us.

Mercifully, Harry came into the kitchen about twenty seconds later, and informed us that it was ok to come back into the living room.

I placed my tea on the work surface, and sped out of the kitchen, not wanting to be alone with Ron for another second.

I sat down on an armchair, so that there was no chance that Ron would sit down next to me.

Ron entered a few seconds later, and re-took his place on the sofa.

I saw Ginny glance at Ron, who still looked like he was suffering from shock, and then at me, sat there, completely on edge. I saw her frown, and knew we were destined for a little chat later on.

Harry came back into the room a little while later, holding a mug of tea, which he gave to Ginny, who thanked him, and took a sip.

Harry sat down next to Ginny, took Sirius out of his buggy, and placed him on his lap.

Making sure Sirius was comfortable, Harry said seriously, "As you both are well aware, the ministry has had no success in capturing Draco Malfoy in the last five years. We now believe this is not down to any excessive brain-power on Malfoy's part, rather that it is more down to some magical enchantment, rendering him impossible to find."

Uh, I should probably tell you that Ron and I work as under-cover aurors. We do not work directly for the ministry, but are like freelance detectives, used when needed. The anonymity also helps, because we can infiltrate operations without suspicion.

Our latest project is really a recurring one. Malfoy has been a huge thorn in the ministry's side. Just like Sirius was a few years ago, Malfoy is 'the' wizard to arrest – if the ministry arrests him, they will be guaranteed huge public popularity, and that is something the ministry cannot get enough of!

Harry continued, "This theory is supported by evidence that has just recently come to light. Do you remember, way back in our sixth year, when I over-heard Snape and Malfoy talking about an unbreakable-vow Snape had made with Malfoy's mother?"

Ron and I nodded.

"Well, it appears that Snape honoured this vow so highly, that he concocted some magical potion just before the final battle, which would keep Malfoy from any who hunted him. Annoyingly, that includes us too."

His words were greeted with a slight feeling of deflation. It looked like we were never going to be able to find him.

Ron voiced what I was thinking, and said peevishly, "Oh, well, yeah, that's just brilliant! So basically, all the hard work we've put in over the past five years has been for nothing! Malfoy's never going to be found(!)"

"I haven't finished yet, Ron," Harry replied slightly contemptuously, "There may be a way for us to break the enchantment the potion created, thus making it possible for us to locate Malfoy, and bring him to justice."

I leant back in my chair, the full meaning of his words hitting me.

"So," I asked inquisitively, "Malfoy might not remain hidden for much longer?"

"Nope," replied Harry, looking satisfied.

"But," I asked, slightly doubtfully, "How on earth are we going to break the enchantment? Surely we'd have to find out how the potion was made in the first place?"

Harry took a deep breath, and straightened up.

"How would you like to go for a little visit to St. Mungo's secure-section?"

I gasped.

We were going to see Severus Snape.

**I was thinking of putting up a missing moment (when Harry and Ginny talk in the living room) - what do you think?**


	3. Time Out:A Missing Moment from Chapter 2

Harry sat, dazed in the wake of Ginny's sudden outburst until Hermione nudged him. He got up and walked slowly over to her, kneeling in front of her.

Harry didn't even notice as Hermione placed his son back in the buggy and left the room with Ron. He just stared, dumbstruck, at his sobbing wife.

"Gin?" he said tentatively, pushing back her fringe from her face. "Ginny?"

Ginny looked up at him through bloodshot eyes, her tear-stained cheeks flushed as she fought to get control of herself.

"W-w-what?" she stuttered, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Harry took one of her hands in his and Ginny reluctantly lifted her head.

"Babe, I had know idea you felt that way – why didn't you _say _something before?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at this.

"I have! But whenever I try and broach the subject you have to dash off and go save the country!"

Harry frowned.

"That's not true Gin!"

"It is Harry," replied Ginny bitterly. "Take last week for example. I'd just put Sirius down when you came home and he started crying. I asked you if you could check on him and you said you didn't have any time to because you needed to check out a lead you had on Draco Malfoy but promised to be home in time to bath Sirius the next day but you weren't-"

"I was home in time to bath Sirius!" interrupted Harry with a bewildered look on his face. "We played with the floating duck and he giggled and splashed water everywhere!"

"I am aware of that," said Ginny coldly. "You didn't actually let me finish."

Harry reddened under her piercing glare and regretted opening his fat mouth.

"What I was _going _to say, was that, yes, ok you did bath Sirius that day, but his bath time is at eight o'clock – you didn't arrive home until eleven. I purposefully kept him up, even though I was _really_ tired and needed to write my column, just so that when you DID finally get home, you'd have time to bond with your son. As a result, I didn't get my column finished and was so tired that I had to dump Sirius on my mum, which, although she was _thrilled _to have him, made me feel really inadequate because I had to rely on my mum to look after my little boy."

"Gin, everyone needs a break once in a while," said Harry softly.

Ginny's eyes flashed with anger.

"Yes, they do! But you haven't even seemed to notice me getting steadily irritable over the past few months!"

"I have Gin, really I have. Like last month when I suggested we had an early night and you turned around and said that you weren't in the mood."

Ginny stared at him open-mouthed.

"Oh my GOD Harry! Just because I'm 'not in the mood' doesn't mean I'm irritable! If you'd have checked the calendar, you would've seen that."

Harry's eyes widened as he realised what she meant.

"Oh," he faltered. "I didn't think of that."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Too right you didn't!" she replied angrily. "That's just you all over Harry – you take everything I do at face value and don't think to delve any deeper. If you keep carrying on as though your job is your life then it will be. You'll miss Sirius growing up and you won't even realise it until one day he's the one having all these adventures you so desperately crave. You haven't even noticed the hand print paintings adorning the fridge door – you just yank it open and grab a pint of beer. We're in trouble Harry and you haven't even realised."

Harry blinked as this tirade of faults hit him.

He thought back to the last time he'd seen Ginny smile at him and realised with a jolt it had been months ago. Now all he received from her were tired looks and cutting replies to his, he now realised, thoughtless and patronising questions.

He had enjoyed the time he'd spent alone with Sirius, felt his heart swell with pride as he watched the little boy giggle and splash around in the bath, but he realised with a sinking heart that that had been the last time he'd spent any real, meaningful time with his son.

He didn't want to miss out on Sirius' life like his father had on his. There was no excuse for it.

And Ginny was right. They were in trouble if it could get to the point where his wife was sobbing in his best friends' house and he didn't even know anything was wrong.

He didn't want to lose Ginny and he didn't want to miss out on anything to do with Sirius. He wanted to give his family everything he'd never had but at the moment he was putting his own thirst for catching Death Eaters before his family and that was unacceptable.

He loved Ginny and Sirius more than anything else in the world – he'd been an idiot not to show it.

Taking a deep breath he met Ginny's angry gaze.

"I've been an idiot," he said simply. "I got too caught up in old ways and forgot about the real things that matter to me. My work should always and will now _always_ come second to this family. I love you Ginny and Sirius more than life itself. Words cannot express how much I regret having not shown that. Please let's start over and if this ever happens again feel free to hex my arse all the way to Romania, where Charlie's dragons can fry me to a crisp and then eat me for brunch!"

Ginny smiled weakly.

"I want to believe you Harry but-"

"But _nothing_," interrupted Harry firmly. "It won't happen again."

"Promise?" asked Ginny, pouting her lips.

"Promise," repeated Harry, leaning forward and kissing her on the lips.

"Good," smiled Ginny against his lips.

Harry leaned back and grinned.

"I love you Ginevra Molly Weasley."

Ginny whacked him playfully on the arm.

"Don't _ever_ call me that again, or you'll be on the couch for a week."

"I wouldn't mind, so long as you joined me!" Harry teased.

"Hey!" laughed Ginny, whacking him again.

Harry laughed too then looked over to the kitchen door.

"Reckon I should I go tell them that it's safe to come out now?"

Ginny grinned.

"Yeah. Hope Hermione hasn't killed him – I'm sure he will have said something rude."

Harry smirked. They both knew Ron too well.

Heaving himself to his feet, he bent down and gave Sirius a quick kiss on his forehead, then walked over to the kitchen and opened the door.

Seeing the relieved look on his friends' faces, he supressed a smile.

Hermione and Ron better get used to domestics, Harry thought happily.

When they finally got their act together and started dating, he was sure there would be no rest in the Weasley/Granger household.


	4. Annoyance, Expresso and Revelations

'**Miss-Uptight Suburban Girl' taken from the Xbox game: Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

_When feelings are revealed_

_It's not always black and white_

_Love isn't easy_

_And not always right_

We pulled up outside the store with the mannequin display in the window, which hid the entrance to St Mungos, at nine am the next day.

Ron was grumbling and groaning about having to go and visit Snape. After the fiftieth time of hearing him say, "But why?? I mean, can't you get some ministry official to speak to him? I had to take six years of Snape and I aint gonna take anymore – especially if it's voluntary!" I snapped, spun round to face him, and yelled, "Ronald Weasley – SHUT UP!!"

He looked really really scared.

I continued, "Harry has explained why Snape is needed in this investigation, and we are on the inside core of it, so it makes sense for us to talk to him. Now, if I hear you say another word about 'why…?' I will kick your arse all the way to Timbuktu – do you understand me?!"

Ron nodded, looking gob smacked.

"Right," I breathed silkily, "Now get out of this car, and find a Starbucks."

Ron looked thoroughly confused.

"Er…why?"

"Because," I exploded angrily, "I want a very strong expresso, and you my friend, are going to get it for me!"

Eyes wide, Ron backed away from me, quickly popped open the side door, and got out, slamming it hastily behind him.

I let out a loud sigh, and slumped back in my seat. I caught Harry's eye in the rear-view mirror.

"What?" I asked annoyed.

I saw Harry grin in the reflection, and then he turned around and looked directly at me.

"Well," he smirked, "I swear I've never seen Ron look so scared – not even when Charlie accidentally let a baby dragon loose at The Burrow!"

I grudgingly laughed, then rolled my eyes.

"As much as I love Ron – in the platonic sense that is!" I added hastily. "He can be the most tiresome person in the world sometimes."

Harry let out a derisive snort.

"You're telling me," He said sardonically. "You didn't have to share a room with him for six years. Remember in our fourth year when he absolutely refused to believe I didn't enter myself in that stupid Triwizard tournament until I nearly got burnt to a crisp?"

I shook my head. Ron was a bit of a prat when it came to feelings and such like.

Although, a little voice in my head commented snidely, you're hardly an expert on feelings – you hardly even know what the hell is going on with your own, let alone anyone else's!

"Shut up brain!" I said out loud.

Harry looked at me oddly.

"Er, you ok there Hermione – Brian the Brain not giving you any much agro is he?"

"You're not funny," I told him.

"And there's me thinking I had a chance at becoming the next Witty Wizard – how ever shall I spend my days now?"

I glared at him, choosing to ignore his comment and turned to look out of the window at the passing muggles hurrying by to get to the latest mid-season sale, or to meet loved ones for breakfast.

I wondered if Ron had got my coffee yet.

"Aw, come on Hermione," Harry laughed, climbing into the back of the car with me, "Lighten up! We may be the closest we've ever been to catching Draco Malfoy – that surely deserves some kind of joyous witticisms! Plus, Ron's never gonna ask you out if you act like Miss Up-Tight Suburban Girl!"

Eyes wide, I swung round to look at Harry, my mouth hanging open.

"What?"

I swear I have never seen a grin as evil as the one Harry was giving me now.

"Don't deny it Hermione – you totally dig him!"

My nostrils flared spectacularly as I mustered up the most venomous voice I could manage.

"I do not," I spat at Harry, "In the _slightest_ 'dig' Ron."

Harry's eyes flashed with amusement.

"Oh yeah?" he said with fake confusion plastered all over his face. "How come, then, you got so upset in our fourth year when he said, 'Neville's right - you_ are_ a girl!'?"

"Because," I replied sarcastically, "I was annoyed he no longer regarded me as one of the boys…Why do you _think _Harry?!"

"I think it was because you secretly loved him, and the fact that he hadn't acknowledged you were actually a girl could only mean that he didn't fancy you back! Although, I suppose he could be gay…"

"It would explain a lot," I muttered.

Harry looked at me, evidently worried; then he shook his head and said, "Nah, impossible."

"You're right, it is impossible," I agreed. "The 'me loving Ron' bit, not the gay part."

Harry narrowed his eyes at me.

"Liar," he said.

"Excuse me!" I exclaimed, incensed. "And what proof do you have of this?!"

"Well," Harry began, "Answer me this – If it had been me, and not Ron, who said, in short, he hadn't noticed you were a girl, up until that point, would you have been so upset by it?"

"Yes," I lied. "Because that would still have meant people regarded me as a boy, which is hardly flattering and really doesn't do a lot for my low self-esteem!"

"Why were you so jealous of him and Lavender?" Harry asked brashly.

"I…I," I stammered, "I wasn't_ jealous_…I…I just… didn't enjoy having to hear them slobber all over each other – yes _hear_ Harry, they were _that_ loud – and Lavender constantly calling him '_Won Won_' really was more than any sane person should have to handle!"

He still didn't look convinced.

"Look, Harry I don't…"

The car door opened.

"…love Ron!"

I heard Harry take a sharp intake of breath.

I blinked as sunlight streamed into the car, and then let out a gasp of horror.

Ron was stood there, my expresso in one hand, a muggle newspaper in the other, looking as though someone had just slapped him round the face.

My life suddenly got a whole lot more complicated.

**I would just like to state that I am not homophobic, and nor is Harry – he is merely being immature and making the typical assumption that 'if he's gay he'll come onto me' lol.**

**I know it was short, but better things are to come! Hope you enjoyed the chapter******


	5. Receptionists, Names and UhOhs

_Courage is not the absence of fear_

_But sometimes fear overcomes_

_Those who know that sometimes_

_Courage might change everything _

_Not always for better_

_But for worse_

Harry, Ron and I entered St. Mungo's at a particularly busy time. We had to flatten ourselves against a wall as a trolley carrying a middle-aged wizard with a sink sticking out of his head flew by, pushed by a harassed looking mediwizard.

After avoiding a flying leg, Harry and I reached the reception desk and were joined a few seconds later by Ron, who had just been attacked by a child who had transfigured its hands into fanged-frisbees.

Trying hard not to laugh at the rips in Ron's t-shirt, Harry looked round and smiled at the receptionist.

The receptionist looked up at him and put on a fake grin.

"Hello, Sir, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm here to see Severus Snape."

The receptionist blinked.

"Severus Snape?" he repeated.

Harry nodded confidently.

"Oh, well I'm afraid that won't be possible. Mr Snape is in a secure ward and only those with access documents will be allowed to see him."

Harry put a hand in his pocket and pulled out an official looking piece of parchment.

"It's a good job I've got one of those then, isn't it?"

The receptionist looked down at the paper in surprise then picked it up and scrutinised it thoroughly.

After a minute or so he handed it back to Harry with an irritable look on his face. I resisted smirking at how annoyed the man was that Harry had outsmarted him.

"Very well," he said through gritted teeth, all airs of politeness gone. "Make your way to the 6th floor and then give this paper to the Matron."

He thrust the document back at Harry, who took it, looking confused.

"I wasn't aware there were six floors here."

"Well evidently there are," snapped the receptionist, who then yelled, "NEXT!"

Looking slightly incredulous, Harry muttered a sarcastic, "Thanks for your help!" and we made our way to the stairs.

I glanced at Ron, who was determinedly avoiding my gaze.

Sighing I looked at the pictures adorning the walls, and was surprised to see a picture of Madam Pompfrey, who gave me a stern look.

I smiled inwardly as memories of Hogwarts and all the times I'd ended up in the Hospital Wing flashed through my mind. Of course, most of these trips - in fact ALL of these trips - had been due to something bad happening, but excitement and adventure had nearly always preceded these stays. I had always loved that about being at Hogwarts – every year, without fail, Harry, Ron and I had always been in some kind escapade, whether it be battling our way through all the protections surrounding the Philosopher's stone or fighting to the death with Voldermort's death eaters, and although as the years went on the emotional and physical scars got deeper, I would never have wanted it any other way; all that action made my life a hell of a lot more exhilarating!

I suppose that's why I chose to become an auror. When Voldermort was defeated, it was like my whole world was changing but not all in a good way.

Yes, Voldermort being gone was good – I'm really not denying that.

But…well…what was I going to do now? All the adventures Harry, Ron and I had had were all due to Voldermort. Now that he was gone there weren't any more adventures to be had – how boring is that?

So, I decided becoming an auror would be the next best thing.

It's still dangerous, but nowhere near as intense as all the Voldermort stuff – although I liked the buzz, it was really emotionally and physically draining. At least when I go home I can relax because I know that Harry, Ron and I aren't the only ones able to save the world – other people get a turn now.

I was bought out of my musings as we reached the end of the fifth floor corridor.

"Uh," said Ron, looking around. "Where do we go now?"

Harry's was stood with his teeth gritted.

"I _knew_ that guy was having us on!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have embarrassed him?" I said.

Harry glared at me.

"Don't get all high and mighty on me Hermione! That guy needs to toughen up if he gets that easily offended!"

"Harry!" I said in surprise. "That's so rude!"

"He deserved it! 6th floor indeed – there isn't even a sign!"

I opened my mouth to retaliate when the wall next to me suddenly moved apart and revealed a brick coloured door.

"Oh," I said in surprise.

Harry stared at it warily and then reached out a hand to push it open. He jumped about a mile in the air when a voice suddenly said, "Name please."

Swearing as he regained his composure, Harry said angrily, "Harry Potter."

"Your full name please."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Harry James Potter."

"And your accomplices'?"

Harry looked round at Ron and me in surprise.

"Uh, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley," he said hesitantly.

"Their full names please."

"Oh for f-"

"Harry!" I said warningly.

Harry shot me a death glare and then turned back to the door.

"Hermione Jane Granger and Ronald…um…"

Harry frowned and looked at Ron.

"What's your full name mate?"

Ron blushed crimson.

"Ronaldbilliusweasley," he said in a rush.

"What did you say?"

Ron blushed even harder and looked up at the ceiling.

"Ronald-Billius-Weasley," he said in an agonised voice.

It was testimony of how strong their friendship was that Harry didn't laugh.

He looked like he wanted to though.

"Hermione Jane Granger and Ronald Billius Weasley," Harry repeated.

"Thank you," said the voice. "And the reason for your visit?"

"Oh for God's sake!" cried Harry losing patience. "We're here to see Severus Snape."

"Thank you," said the voice again. "Please enter."

And with that the door swung open.

As we went through, Harry muttered, "Anyone get a feeling of déjà vu?"

I smiled, remembering our visit to the Ministry in our fifth year.

"At least no one's life is in danger this time."

"I don't know," growled Harry threateningly. "I might have to destroy that door on the way out – it majorly p-"

"Mr Potter?"

We all looked round to see a painting of an elderly woman smiling kindly at us.

"Yes?" replied Harry cautiously.

"Hello dear. I'm Healer Smith. Now, I'm pretty sure you've never visited this floor-"

"We haven't," interrupted Ron.

I frowned at him.

"What?!" he mouthed angrily.

I just rolled my eyes.

Healer Smith kept smiling however.

"Ah, ok then. Well, this floor is not on the floor plan, as I'm sure you've guessed. We do this, one, to keep our patients safe, and two, so as not to cause alarm. Some of these patients are very ill, so I suggest that if you having any worries about going in that you don't."

"We don't," we all chorused.

"Very well," nodded Healer Smith. "Please then, make your way along this passage and turn left at the end. Continue along and you will find the Matron."

"Ok, thank you," said Harry with a polite smile.

"You're very welcome dear – and say hello to your wife would you? She's helped many a love-sick patient here."

"Will do," grinned Harry.

Ron lead the way this time, glancing round at the greying walls as though frightened another door would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

We reached the end of the passage and turned left as instructed.

Waiting for us outside a door labelled 'Matron' stood a rather stern looking woman, wearing an old-style Matron outfit, complete with white hat and collar.

We edged forward nervously, unsure of how to approach the woman.

"Mr Harry James Potter, Miss Hermione Jane Granger and Mr Ronald Billius Weasley?" enquired the Matron, as Ron grimaced.

"Sure are," Harry responded brightly.

The Matron scowled.

Oops. Looks like cheeriness hadn't quite been introduced in 1926. Oh well.

"Indeed," commented the Matron dryly. "Before you can visit Mr Snape you will need to fill in some documents. If you refuse to do so then access will be denied."

"We'll do it," Harry said hurriedly.

"_You_ will do it," the Matron corrected him coldly. "I do not want the three of you cluttering up my office. You will complete the forms quickly and efficiently. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Harry answered quickly, with an apprehensive look on his face.

"Inside!" barked the Matron and Harry hastened to obey her.

The Matron followed him in and shut the door behind her with a curt _snap_.

Ron and I stood in stunned silence for a minute then realised we were alone together and the stunned silence morphed into awkward silence. We stood like that for a while until I got bored, conjured myself a plastic chair and grabbed a Witch Weekly that

was sat on top of a small coffee table next to the Matron's office door and sat down, whilst Ron began huffing and puffing up and down the corridor, muttering to himself.

Just as I was getting to an interesting article about Unicorns, Ron conjured up a chair too, sat down, took a determined breath and said, "We need to talk."


	6. Bangs, Burns and Braveness

_Confronting the past_

_And looking to the future_

_Both hold truth_

_But neither is easy to comprehend_

Oh God.

Those dreaded words.

My life is over.

My mind flashed back to what had happened after Ron heard me utter those mortifying words of "love Ron!"…

Flashback

… I heard Harry take a sharp intake of breath.

I blinked as sunlight streamed into the car, and then let out a gasp of horror.

Ron was stood there, my expresso in one hand, a muggle newspaper in the other, looking as though someone had just slapped him round the face.

"Ron!" I gasped.

"Er," stammered Ron, turning scarlet.

"I-uh-I," I stuttered, my cheeks going pink.

Harry, the little cretin, just sat back and watched Ron and I make complete fools of ourselves.

I cleared my throat, trying to capture some of my, now shattered, dignity and grabbed at the coffee Ron had bought me.

Unfortunately, Ron had loosened the lid of the cup, so that the drink could cool down, and boiling hot coffee got poured all over his hands and crotch, soaking the newspaper, which he promptly dropped.

"Bloody HELL!" yelped Ron, as his trousers began to steam.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I squealed, jumping out of the car and promptly whacking my head of the door frame.

"Jesus CHRIST!" I yelled, clutching my head.

I swear I must've lost about a billion brain cells in the last couple of weeks due to excess head banging – and not the mosher kind either.

So there we were, the pair of us, screaming in pain – Ron blowing on his burnt hand and fanning his crotch and me holding my head whilst trying madly to apologise for scolding him.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, some Japanese tourists came up and started snapping pictures of us.

Great.

I've never in my life seen Japanese tourists _actually do _that whole movie-cliché-thing, but today, when I looked like an escaped mental patient, they decided to adhere to the stereotype.

Perfect.

I hate my life.

I suddenly realised that my head didn't actually hurt that much anymore, so I dropped my arms, shooed the tourists away, and pulled Ron out of view.

Then I started muttering cooling and de-scolding spells, waving my wand soothingly over his burnt hand.

When I reached his crotch, however, I stopped.

I looked up at Ron, who was eyeing me with complete disdain.

"Hermione," he said coolly. "I am not walking round with fried-"

"Ron!" I exclaimed, shocked.

"Trousers," he finished coldly. "Or as if I've wet myself, so you'd better do that spell on my crotch too, otherwise I will put a permanent sweat-patch hex on all of your tops."

"You wouldn't dare!" I cried, aghast.

"Just watch me," he replied, his jaw set.

"Oh, alright!" I scowled.

As I set to work on his crotch (how bad does _that_ sound?!), Ron said loudly, "Oh and Hermione? If I'm impotent, I'm holding _you_ personally responsible."

I gulped and lowered my head.

End Flashback

"Yes," I said in a small voice, determinedly keeping my gaze fixed on a _very_ interesting crack on the opposite wall.

"Look at me Hermione."

Reluctantly, I turned round to face him and was surprised at how serious he looked.

This was worse than I thought.

I braced myself for those crushing words of-

Well.

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't:

"Hermione, I'm in love with you."


	7. Pardons, Never Minds, and Woahs

_Realisations _

_Contemplations_

_But no celebrations_

_Are always hard to take_

Ok.

That's not quite what I'd been expecting.

Ron seemed quite surprised at his outburst and was rapidly turning the colour of a freshly boiled lobster.

But before I even had time to say 'oh', the Matron's door swung open and a very exhausted looking Harry emerged, followed by the up-tight Matron.

Harry looked very relieved to see Ron and I sat there.

As soon as Ron saw Harry, he jumped out of his seat and hastily began talking to him.

"So, mate, we going in to see Snape or not? 'Cause it's a bit pointless if we've come all this way just to be turned away! I mean, yeah ok, I wasn't very keen on the idea at first but now I get it, I completely do and can we _please_ leave this corridor, if nothing else?!"

He said all this very fast and in one breath and Harry looked as though he was having trouble processing what Ron had just said.

"Er," replied Harry slowly, "If you just asked whether we could see Snape, then the answer is 'yes'."

Stung by Ron's complete change of attitude, I stood up and said, "Yes, that is what he said. Shall we go then?"

Harry looked at the two of us suspiciously but I shook my head warningly and he decided not to say anything, thank God.

I turned to the Matron and said, "Thank you for your help."

She just pursed her lips at me.

What a bitch.

Another door appeared to our left and we went through it. The walls were very dark and gave me an eerie feeling.

I don't think I like St Mungos as much anymore.

We finally reached _another_ door, which, again, we opened and went through.

A row of about ten cubicles on either side flanked us as we made our way down the corridor.

The walls were sparkling white and the floors were made of marble.

Not too shabby for a secure-ward, I found myself thinking.

An older lady emerged from one of the cubicles and when she saw us she smiled.

"Wow," Ron muttered, "Looks like you have to be old or grumpy to work with mental people. I thought nurses were supposed to be hot!"

I glared at him, hurt by his thoughtless remark when no less than five minute ago, he had been declaring his love for me!

After giving him one final look of contempt, I looked away, but not before I saw his hurt expression.

You know what? I don't care! I just cannot be _bothered _with Ron Weasley anymore! He sends me _so_ many mixed signals – that whole nurse thing like a second ago? Prime example!

I mean, I don't care whether or not he fancies me. He can do what he wants. It's his life. I don't care. Not one teensy bit.

He can date whomever he wants, _when_ever he wants.

I just wish when he did date someone, I didn't feel so awful.

When he dated Lavender in sixth year, it felt like someone had ripped my heart right out of my chest.

And then…And then at Dumbledore's funeral, I was so _sure_ he was going to ask me out.

But then we got involved in fighting Voldermort, so that all went down the drain.

But…And I've never told _anyone_ this before, so you've got to promise to keep it secret, ok?!

Promise?

Ok.

Well…Ron and I kissed.

After Voldermort was defeated and Harry was in St Mungos, Ron came round to visit me (I was staying with my parents at the time). We chatted a bit and then, all of a sudden, I found myself in tears! I guess the shock of all the stuff I'd seen that year was finally sinking in.

So, naturally, Ron started hugging me and then…I dunno…his lips were on mine and we were kissing and it was so wonderful.

And then my parents got home.

And they yelled up the stairs that they were home.

And Ron pulled away from me as though someone had rammed a mains plug up his bum.

And then he said, "I gotta go!"

And then he dissapparated.

And then I cried.

When I finally pulled myself together, I dissapparated to Grimmauld place.

I went in and heard a noise up in Harry and Ron's room, so I assumed Harry was back from St Mungos, so I went upstairs and pushed open the door…

…And found Ron in there with Lavender Brown, clothes everywhere. And by everywhere I don't mean on him. Or her.

I swear my heart just cracked.

Ron went royally red when he saw me but I was already half way out the door when he caught up with me.

That was the most horrible conversation I've ever had in my life.

And the biggest lie I've ever told too.

Flashback

"Hermione! Wait! Please!"

I took a deep breath and turned around to look at Ron who was stood there in only a pair of trousers.

Looking away, I said, "I'm-I'm sorry for er, interrupting you and Lavender. I thought it was Harry back. I should have knocked."

"Hermione, please-"

"No, no, there's no need to apologise or whatever to me. I shouldn't have just walked in like that."

"Hermione, it wasn't what it looked like."

I felt bile rise in my throat.

"Oh no?" I said, voice shaking. "Looked like you were about to have sex to me!"

Ron turned beetroot.

"Well, I er…" he said gruffly.

I forced a smile.

"It's ok, you don't have to be embarrassed about it! I mean, if you're gonna do it, you should at least be able to talk about it!"

I laughed but even to my ears it sounded hollow.

"Hermione, look about earlier…"

"Already forgotten!" I said, practically cracking my face as I attempted to grin. "Emotions were running high, there was nothing in it, right?"

Ron blinked.

"Um, no. No of course not."

We regarded each other for a minute and then Ron said slowly, "So you're ok with me being with Lavender?"

"Ok? Wh-I'm thrilled! Honestly!"

Wow, could I have _sounded_ more fake?!

Some emotion I couldn't quite work out flitted across Ron's face.

"Ok, cool," he said. "I was just worried that, you know, you fancied me! You don't do you?"

I winced at his words but hid it well by laughing, "No! No way! Now you just toddle back to Lavender. I'm sure she's waiting for you."

Ron nodded.

"Ok, well I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing!" I grinned at him.

Ron smiled and walked back up the stairs.

I watched him go, feeling as though my whole world was ending.

End flashback

Realisation hit my like a smack in the face.

I love Ron.

I really really do!

All these years I've been telling myself I don't because…because…because I couldn't bear to be around Ron knowing that I wanted him but that he could never be mine.

So I buried those feelings and put up barriers.

But not barriers big enough shield sufficiently how I really felt.

People knew.

God they knew.

How embarrassing.

I looked over at Ron who was glancing apprehensively into the surrounding cubicles and my heart seemed to squeeze so hard that it hurt.

I want him so bad.

I do.

And time after time after time he breaks my heart – one minute he's hot for me, the next he's not.

What an arsehole!

But before I could get onto a list of what I hated about Ron Weasley, Harry suddenly stopped walking.

Having not been paying attention I walked straight into him.

"Ouch!" I said, taking a step back.

But Harry didn't move or say anything – he was just staring at something in front of him.

I followed his gaze and felt a jolt of shock run through me.

There, sitting quite contentedly was Severus Snape.


	8. Snape, Fear and Expectations

_Fear…_

_It's everywhere_

_Rooted in the mind,_

_Felt in the heart,_

_But shown in the eyes_

My breath caught in my throat. This was the first time I'd set eyes on Severus Snape in over five years and boy was it a terrifying experience.

I know that sounds stupid – he's in a secure ward and can't do me any harm – and I know that I'm a very powerful witch and not the little girl I used to be but this guy was cruel and humiliated me, Harry and Ron in the six years that he was our teacher. I always tried to remain unbiased when it came to the almost weekly debates about whether Snape had really reformed. I scolded and would not believe Harry and Ron's insistent mistrust of him.

And then he murdered Dumbledore and betrayed us all.

Deep-rooted, from then on, was a hatred I had never known. I hid it well but would not have been reproved by anyone if I had openly shown it, which Harry, Ron and many others in the Order did without a second thought.

I believed Severus Snape was truly an evil man.

Bu then something remarkable happed. Ron and I were about to be killed by Greyback and wham! Snape hits him with a killing curse without even blinking an eyelid! And so it seems like Snape is actually one of the good guys and then boom! He kills Rufus Scrimgeour right in front our eyes!

Talk about messed up!

I felt Harry move away from me and followed him towards the chair Snape was sat in.

Ron trailed behind me. I could feel the tension in the room rise. A knife was certainly in order.

Snape didn't look at us as we conjured chairs to sit on; he just remained in the same position he'd been in when we'd first come in.

Now that I was closer, I could see his features more clearly. He wore a white jumpsuit and soft shoes. Around his neck was…well…I can only describe it as a collar of some sort, bearing his name, patient number (1977) and who his nurse was. His skin was sallow and stretched, his hair as greasy as it was at Hogwarts. But his eyes. They were dead eyes. Not even traces of the haunting things he had seen and done flittered behind them.

You know who he reminded of?

Sirius – the first time we set eyes on him and thought him a traitorous murderer.

Determined to keep my focus, I shook my head to clear my mind of past events. Here and now was the only important thing at the moment.

The nurse who had smiled at us earlier now said, "Severus, you have guests. Why don't you say hello?"

Snape merely blinked.

"Severus? Did you hear me? I said that you have guests. Don't you think it would be nice of you to say hello?" she tried again.

There was still no response.

Oh brilliant.

If this turns out to be a complete waste of time, (and I'm starting to think it will be) I am going to be _mightly_ hacked off!

I mean, I have smacked my head, been told by Harry that I'm in love with Ron, seemingly _professed_ said love for Ron and then had to get rather close to Ron's crotch after scalding him-

Wait…Was that last part bad…?

What am I SAYING?!

Of course it's bad!!

Very _very_ bad!

What is _wrong_ with me?!

I will not like Ron…I will not like Ron…

Remember how much he's screwed you over?! He told you he loved you then ditched you _again_!

You will not like Ron…You will not like Ron…

"I'm sorry," the nurse said, interrupting my rather nutty argument with myself.

I swear I should be put in a mental ward too.

"I don't know how much you'll get out of him, if anything."

Like we hadn't figured that out already! I'd roll my eyes if I didn't think she'd notice.

Harry nodded.

"I'm aware of the unlikelihood of finding out what I need to but I'm in no hurry to leave."

The nurse nodded her understanding then went to tend to one of the patients who had just began to babble in a high pitched, almost banshee-like wail.

It was a really creepy noise, almost supernatural. It actually reminded me of the noise Katie Bell made when she touched that cursed necklace all the way back in sixth year.

I sighed.

So much has changed in what feels like no time at all.

And I'm not sure if it's all been for the better.

There was a time when everything was so much simpler and so much less…hard.

Ok I know I just said exactly the same thing with two different words, but do you see me caring?!

And, yes, ok, stuff hasn't ever really been simpler for me.

I mean, yeah, I guess it was, when I was like…two. But, it's never been easy. Not really. Not for me and Harry and Ron.

Even in first year we were fighting the dark arts! How screwed up is that?!

And completely unfair I might add!

But it still wasn't that dark.

Not compared to everything else we've faced.

And even though that danger's pretty much gone there's so much stuff now that feels just as dangerous.

Like having to make your own way in the world.

Protecting those you love.

Realising who it is that you are _in_ love _with_…

I suddenly realised Harry was talking to Ron and, with a massive effort, I tuned myself back in.

"…And I want to do all the talking. I know exactly what we need and I don't want him to get confused. Not that I care about his welfare – I'm more worried about him completely clamming up."

Resisting the urge to comment on Harry deciding to become boss, I nodded, as did Ron. The mature side of me knew that, although it sounded harsh and it wasn't like Ron and I weren't capable of interviewing Snape ourselves, our mission was of such great importance that some things you just had to overlook and Harry wasn't actually trying to be rude; he just wanted to get what we needed.

It's not like I could protest of the 'unfairness' of not being able to talk to Snape – that would just be childish. Plus, I don't think I really want to talk to him anyways.

Harry gave us a small smile then turned back to Snape.

"Hello, Snape."


	9. Celebrity, Animals and Pain

**A huge thank you to all the great reviews everyone's left. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic and hope that I'm doing it justice. There are at least five chapters in the brewing and it's in no way near finished, so hopefully you'll all want to continue reading it!:P**

**Here is the next chapter (prepare to be a bit confused…)**

_Revelations aren't easy _

_To reveal,_

_Take in,_

_And comprehend_

Snape didn't move or make any indication that he'd heard Harry.

He tried again but to no avail.

I had already been starting to get spooked out by that wailing patient but this complete silence from a man who had never in the past made any effort not to direct at Harry, Ron or I a cold, cutting or harsh remark was definitely heightening the creepy scale.

Maybe that healer earlier had been right – I'm not sure if I'm cut out for this.

"Harry, I-" I began but he cut me off.

"Be quiet Hermione."

I bowed my head.

"Shouldn't tell the girl to be quiet. She might not like you anymore."

My head whipped up.

Snape was staring straight at me.

I looked at Harry.

"What did you say?" said Harry.

Snape's eyes snapped round to him.

"Mr Potter – our new celebrity!"

My mouth dropped open. That was what he had said to Harry in our first ever Potions lesson, over twelve years ago.

Ron was looking at Harry uneasily.

"Mate, maybe we shouldn't-"

"No!" snapped Harry. "We came here with a job to do and if you can't hack it Ron, then you leave."

Ron looked quite stunned at Harry's harsh words but then shook his head.

"No, I want to stay."

"Be quiet then."

Looks like this trip's not going to be any team-building exercise, that's for sure!

Harry took a calming breath and then said, "We need information on Draco Malfoy. What do you know?"

Snape, however, had taken up his previous position of staring into space.

"The bird doesn't sing anymore," he said sorrowfully.

Harry glanced uncertainly at me and Ron.

"Er…" he began, but I cut in.

"What bird doesn't sing anymore, Severus?" I asked gently.

Snape turned around and looked at me again, his gaze boring into mine.

"She was such a pretty girl. Fire flowed from her head."

Ok, now if that isn't a breach of health and safety, then I don't know what is!

"Who was?" I tried again.

"The jerk and his dog stoked the flame."

Oh brilliant. Cryptic messages.

This is going to be a _fun day_!

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts_…" Snape began to sing.

"He's gone round the twist!" said Ron, exasperatedly.

"…_teach us something, please_…"

"Oh, _well done_ Ron!" I exclaimed sarcastically. "I can't imagine how you could ever have reached _that_ conclusion whilst sitting in a _mental ward_!"

"…_Whether we be old and bald_…"

"Oh, I'm sorry your highness! I apologise if we don't all have the same brain capacity as _you_, Hermione!"

"…_Or young with scabby knees_…"

"Well it's pretty obvious that _you_ don't!"

"…_Our heads could do with filling_…"

"Oh, that's right! Go ahead and insult me Hermione. You were always lording it over Harry and me at Hogwarts!"

"…_With some interesting stuff_…"

"Hey, don't bring me into this!"

"…_For now they're bare and full of air_…"

"You are so _immature_ Ron! And I _never_ 'lorded' it over you and Harry! Right Harry?!"

"…_Dead flies and bits of stuff_…"

"I told you to leave me out of this!"

"…_So teach us something worth knowing_…"

"I bet you never lorded it over _Vicky_!"

"…_Bring back what we've forgot_…"

"Oh for crying out loud! Could you _be_ more jealous?! And it's _Victor_!"

"…_Just do your best, we'll do the rest_…"

"_Jealous_?! Why on earth would I be _jealous_ of _that_ potato-head?!"

"…_And learn until our brains all rot_."

"Typical! Same old apparent shock and defensiveness. You know what, maybe if you grew up a bit, you wouldn't keep bringing up the past and breaking my h-"

"The snow-white queen and the dark-lidded princess came to tea."

I stopped talking abruptly and stared at Snape.

Something finally slotted into place.

"Harry," I said in a hushed voice, "I think he's talking about Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange!"

Snape's eyes bulged at the sound of their names and the next thing I knew, he was flying at me.

The impact sent the both of us crashing across the cubicle.

Harry and Ron instantly rushed to help me but were thrown back by some invisible barrier.

"No!" hissed Snape. "You cannot speak of it."

Assuming he was talking about Voldermort, I nodded, frozen where I was by fear.

"O-ok," I stammered.

Snape let go off my shirt, which he'd been gripping hold of and began looking at his hands, as though they fascinated him.

I tried to move away but found I couldn't – it looked like the barrier prevented me from leaving this…'bubble'… Snape had cast around us.

I could see Harry and Ron trying to penetrate it but as of yet, seemed unable to do so.

Just as I began summoning up all of my power, in an attempt to break down the barrier, Snape began talking furtively, still staring at his hands.

"The queen and I shared a common goal. 1978 is me. Snivellus, Snivelly! The jerk and his dog dangled the prince – the saint's bank showed the snake it. 1978 is me. But the jerk and his dog could no longer sniff out the prince. And the snake, weasel and beaver cannot find the ferret. 1978 is me. All for one but none for three, none for four. The one all alone. The fortress is where it is hidden, dark eyes sparkling – time is ticking forward - its cold heart beating a new tune. Love is never ending, for it shall come alive at the sound of three. The answer lies and the lies answer inside the fortress. For three, not four, it's the end for me!"

Suddenly he grabbed my wrist, clamping down hard and a searing pain shot all up my arm.

The next thing I knew, I was flying across the ward.

I smashed into a wall, smacking my head as I did so.

As I slid down it, I could feel blood trickling down my neck.

My vision started growing dark and cloudy.

The last thing I remembered was hearing Snape's manic laughter, Harry shouting for help and Ron by my side, telling me to hang on…


	10. Family, Friends and Absences

**There is now a trailer for this on YouTube (Just type it in Where Does The Truth Lie and it'll come up)******

_You should never assume_

_That someone has left_

_You all alone_

I woke up a few days later to find myself lying in a hospital bed, my head feeling as though someone had encased it in a huge marshmallow, surrounded by the people that I loved.

To my left were my very anxious looking parents, glancing nervously at their surroundings. Beside them was George, who had nodded off. Taking up the entire end of the bed was Hagrid, who was clutching an enormous spotted handkerchief.

On my right were Mr and Mrs Weasley. Mrs Weasley was alternately smoothing my bedcovers and reprimanding Mr Weasley for crinkling his copy of the _Daily Prophet_ too loudly.

Next to them were Harry and Ginny. Ginny was fast asleep, with her head on Harry's shoulder. Sirius was playing energetically with a broom and snitch covered mobile that was hanging down from his buggy.

I couldn't help noticing, with a slight tinge of disappointment, and a rather larger pang of anger, that Ron wasn't there.

Huh! Well that's nice, isn't it?! When he got poisoned in our sixth year I was at his bedside as much as I possibly could be, but here I am, head injured and most likely _traumatised_ and he hasn't even had the good grace to make an appearance and check that I'm ok!

I tell you, you couldn't have a better friend than Ron Weasley!

That's sarcasm by the way, just in case you couldn't tell.

Shoving thoughts of Ron and his sheer crapness as a friend, and human being in general, out of my mind, I tried to sit myself up, only to fall right back into the pillow with a groan as my head felt like someone was trying to split it in two with an axe (and a very blunt one at that).

"Hermione, you're awake!" cried Mrs Weasley joyously, engulfing me in a rib-shattering hug.

"Uh huh," I gasped.

"Mum, you're suffocating her!" laughed Ginny, looking relieved.

Mrs Weasley let go of me but no sooner had she backed away than Ginny had thrown her arms around me and too was trying to squeeze all the air out of me.

"Gin? Oxygen. Need it. Now. To live!"

"Oh, sorry," said Ginny, letting go quickly. "I'm just so glad you're ok!"

"Me too," I smiled, hugging my mum and then my dad.

"Fred apologises for not being here – he's a bit hung up at the moment," said George, grinning as he hugged me.

I grinned back at him, "Well, that's just not good enough! Tell him I'll come round soon and say hi."

"Will do," nodded George, retaking his seat.

After hugs all around, I turned to Harry.

"So, what happened with Sn-"

"Not now Hermione," cut in Harry hurriedly, looking alarmed and glancing at Mrs Weasley.

I looked round and saw my parents, Mr and Mrs Weasley, George and Hagrid all looking at me suspiciously.

Sirius just continued to play with his mobile.

Why the suspic-

Ooh.

Woops.

I suddenly remembered that the Snape-mission was completely top-secret and only Harry, Ron, and Ginny knew about it.

"Oh, right," I mumbled, giving Harry an apologetic look. "Sorry, Ginny - I was just about to reveal mine and Harry's illicit affair but I suppose here isn't really place to do it. Plus, I expect George would've ripped Harry limb from limb. It wouldn't have been a pretty sight."

I stuck out my tongue to show that I was joking and everyone started laughing, which broke the tension surrounding my little slip.

Good-oh!

I still really wanted to know what had happened with Snape after I'd been knocked unconscious though, so I said to the assembled group, "Um, would you guys mind if I had a quick word with Harry? Alone..."

They all looked at each other, but nodded, albeit reluctantly, and stood up to leave.

After all giving me one last hug, they left the room, leaving me and Harry alone.

As soon as the door snapped shut after Ginny, I turned to Harry and said urgently, "What happened?"

Harry looked at me very seriously and said, "We're not really sure. We couldn't get through that bubble thing and we couldn't hear what he was saying to you."

"It wouldn't have made much difference, even if you could have," I said, absentmindedly scratching my wrist, which had started to itch. "It sounded like he was talking complete nonsense; he kept banging on about him being '1978' and how the 'jerk and the dog chased the prince' or something. It was really odd."

Harry was frowning – a sure sign that something had interested him.

"Can you remember _everything_ Snape said?" asked Harry now.

"Of course I can!" I cried in mock outrage. "Who do you take me for? Gregory Goyle?!"

Harry smiled.

"It's nice to have you back, Granger."

"You better believe it!" I grinned back at him.

"Anyways," continued Harry, our little tender moment obviously not tender enough to distract him, "Ron and I decided to try and blast our way through the bubble-"

Seeing my eyes widen, he said hurriedly, "Oh, don't worry! It wouldn't have hurt the pair of you."

"Although I can't _wait_ to kill Snape for what he did to you!" he added angrily, his fists clenched.

I laid a hand on Harry's arm and said calmly, "It's ok, Harry. Snape isn't in his right-mind anymore-"

"If he ever was," interrupted Harry bitterly.

"_In any case_," I stressed, "We at least got _something_ out of him. Ok, yeah, I'm not quite sure what that something _was_, but it's better than nothing at any rate."

"So, what happened after I cracked my head open?"

"Um, well…I ran off to get some help, whilst Snape started laughing like a maniac. But Ron… I'd never seen him act so maturely and cool headedly. He rushed over to you, pulled off his shirt and then balled it up and put it behind your head to try and stem the bleeding. He looked so terrified of losing you."

Harry stared at me pointedly.

"_No_, Harry. Ron and I will never…_be_. He's too unpredictable! I mean, here I am, lying in a hospital bed, all bandaged up, and where is he now, huh?!"

A loud smashing noise by the door answered my question.

I looked round in alarm to see Ron surrounded by cups of spilt tea and broken biscuits.

"Hermione," he said weakly, "You're ok!"

I opened my mouth to reply, a smile on my face, but before I could say anything, someone else came through the door.

"Ron, you forgot your wallet!" simpered Lavender Brown.


	11. Concern, Clothes and Compliments

_What you see_

_Isn't Always_

_What You Get_

Oh my god.

_She_ is _here_?

With _Ron_?

No way!

No!

Whilst in my rather huge state of disbelief, Lavender must've noticed me, because she suddenly screamed, "Hermione! Oh my God, how _are_ you?!"

Cue a ridiculously fake look of concern and a bone-breaking hug.

Those being given by Lavender, not me of course.

I wouldn't actually even pretend to care about her if she was in my position.

Wow, I'm really harsh, aren't I?

Oh well!

"Oh, when Ron told me you were in here, I nearly cried…"gushed Lavender, blinking furiously.

'Nearly'? My demise isn't quite worthy of your tears, huh?

Well, _there's _a huge surprise!

"…I mean – we were such good friends at Hogwarts…"

Uh?

Er, where were you when we were at Hogwarts, Lavender? 'Cause the place I was in did _not_ include us being 'such good friends'.

"…The thought of you dying is just so devastating…"

Not to you surely?

"…And I really do hope that we can keep in contact now…"

Over my dead body!

Although, considering how close I was to being just that, perhaps I shouldn't be _quite_ so flippant about it…

"…Because I love you like a sister Herm'…"

Oh God, please don't let that be true!

And 'Herm''? What the hell?!

"…And since I'm going to be Ron's new assistant at the Ministry…"

You know, if you keep on lying Lavender, your tongue is going to turn black and crumble out of your mouth and-

Hang on, _what?!_

"…I think it'd be great if we got better acquainted again!"

Wait, _what?_

Lavender Brown is going to be working for Ron Weasley?

The _same_ Ron Weasley who works in the _same_ department as me?

That's no fair!

"Y-you're going to be working for Ron?" I stammered.

Lavender gave me one of the most sugar-coated, sickly-sweet smiles I have ever seen in my life.

"Yes, isn't that great?!"

No.

"Yeah, totally-!"

Since when have I been American?

"-And maybe this time, you and Ron will be able to be in the same room together without needing to snog each others' faces off every two seconds, ha ha ha."

Cruel, but it had to be said.

I saw Ron turn red but Lavender didn't look at all embarrassed. In fact, she looked strangely triumphant…

Oh, that little b-

"Ahh, still cracking jokes, Hermione, just like you did at Hogwarts-"

I did?

"-It's nice to see that you haven't stopped trying to get attention through being funny, even though you're much hotter now than you ever were at Hogwarts!"

I blinked.

I saw Harry raise his eyebrows incredulously out of the corner of my eye.

Oh, you've gotta love this girl!

Insert sarcastic look _here_

Lavender didn't look remotely abashed at her previous statement and was now looking at a photo of me, Harry and Ron at Harry's 21st birthday party, which I assume was put there by my parents or Mrs Weasley (perhaps in case I'd lost my memory when I hit my head on that very hard wall, and needed reminding as to who my friends were? Well, one of my friends, anyway. I'm not quite sure what Ron counts as…).

"I love how you've worn that type of jean – it disguises really well the fact that you actually have quite a big bum," she said, turning round and smiling at me.

I could actually feel my jaw dropping.

What is her deal?!

And, _excuse me?_ '_Big bum'_?! _Moi_?! I do _not_ have a big bum, you thoughtless, big-bum hating, embarrassment-causing scarlet wom-

Ohhh.

Oh-ho-ho!

Oh, I see what she's doing the conniving little cow!

Well, two can play that game…

Smirking slightly, I said back to her, "Thanks so much! But tell me, what have you used to cover-up that acne on your chin with, because whatever you've used, it's really good – you can hardly see it at all!"

Lavender's nostrils flared and her lips thinned as she fought to stop her embarrassment showing on her face,

Ha ha, gotcha!

"It's a variation of _evanesco_ I've been working on," she all but snarled back at me.

Tee hee!

"Once I've got it just right, I'll lend it to you so can cover up all those black-heads on your nose!"

Oooh, someone's gotten a bit touchy!

But I can do better...

"Mmm, yeah I know; they are a bit obvious. I wanna get them cleared up before I go out clubbing with Ginny-"

A lie (about the club-part, not the black-heads part) but how's she ever gonna know?

Unless Ron tells her…

Oh like he would even be paying that much attention to me!

Snorts disbelievingly

(Only in my head though – Lavender would probably be quite alarmed if I snorted out-loud at something as mundane as saying I was going clubbing. In _fact_, she's probably snorting in her head right now at the idea of me clubbing! But I could club. I could be the bestest damn club-ee England – _no, the world!_ – has ever seen! If I actually liked dancing and didn't act like a fool when I'm drunk…)

"- because I'm planning on, you know, er, _pulling_ someone there. In the club."

Ron's ears suddenly pricked up (not literally of course) at this and he looked at me almost accusingly.

Oh yes, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger is gonna start livin' it up!

Well, I'm going to pretend to be going to whilst Lavender Brown is in the room at least.

Maybe Ron's jealous!

Ha, wouldn't that be a funny thought!

Maybe he'll get a taste of his own medicine.

Oh, revenge is sweet!

"In fact, your top would be perfect for the theme! Where did you get it from?"

Lavender looked down at her bright pink blouse, with purple embroidery on the sleeves, and said, "Oh I got it from that new place that's opened in Diagon Alley. You know, the one opposite Flourish and Blotts. They've got some real nice stuff in there and it's dead cheap! I'm sure you'd be able to afford it! So, what's the theme?"

"Tarts and Vicars," I responded sweetly.


	12. House Elves, Confusion, and Anger

_Words and meanings,_

_Facts and opinions,_

_Love and like_

Thankfully, Lavender finally left – albeit after she'd offered me dieting tips but hey-ho, at least she went.

I spoke to Ron as little as I possibly could and pretended to be asleep whenever he visited alone (hmm, now who else can I remember doing that…?) and directed any questions I had at Harry, even though Ron seemed eager to answer them.

I didn't even thank him for looking after me when I almost died, _that's_ how mad I was at him!

St Mungo's let me out eventually (yippee!) and, after a brief shower, Harry, Ron and I got down to trying to work out what the hell Snape had been talking about.

Only problem was, we had no idea where to start.

"The dog…the snake…do you reckon they were pets or something?" said Ron, frowning and scratching his head. "Or maybe he was scared of them…?"

I really badly wanted to yell at Ron to shut up, but to be honest, his talking made no difference to how well I could decipher Snape's ramblings – it all still looked like gobbledegook to me.

"All for one but none for three, none for four… what's all for one? None for three, none for four – who's three, who's four? This doesn't make any sense!" I cried exasperatedly, screwing up the piece of parchment I'd been writing on and throwing it into the fire.

"What we _need_," said Harry, massaging his temples, "Is someone who understands people like Snape, someone who could at least point us in the right direction."

"Yes, but who do _we_ know who could…could…"

A sudden brainwave hit me, and I stood up abruptly, startling Harry and Ron.

"I'll be right back," I said, rushing to the door and heading for the kitchen.

Scooping up a handful of Floo Powder, I knelt down in front of the fire and threw it in, yelling the name of my destination as I did so.

Feeling slightly sick as thousands of grates rushed past me, I finally came to a stop in a very large, very expensive kitchen.

"Emerald?" I called, coughing slightly as some ash got in my mouth.

A tiny little House-elf came into view, wearing a dazzling emerald-green pillow-case.

"Miss Hermione!" she cried joyously, rushing over to me.

"Hey, Emerald, how are you?" I grinned, trying not to let the pain of kneeling in such an awkward position show on my face.

"I'm fine, thank you Miss – Master is treating me well."

"Good, I'm glad. Talking of your Master, is he in?"

"No, Miss, he's out at the moment. Can I be helping you with something?"

"You can, actually. Could you tell him that I need to speak with his fiancée and would they possibly be able to Floo to Harry Potter's home, please?"

He always told me that he'd be there whenever I needed him, so hopefully he'd keep his promise.

"I will do, Miss. Would you like anything before you go?"

"No, I'm fine thanks Emerald. I'll speak to you soon."

I gave her a smile then yanked my head out of the fire.

Brushing the soot off my jumper, I stood up and headed back to the living room.

On my way I spotted Kreacher, who was busy dusting a table lamp.

"Kreacher," I called in a low voice.

He looked up and gave me a dazzling smile.

"Yes, Miss?" he said, hurrying over to me.

I smiled at him. He's so much nicer now that he doesn't hate me!

"We may be expecting some guests – if they do arrive, could you please prepare a large dinner?"

"Certainly, Miss, Kreacher is happy to be of service."

"Thank you. You can get back to your cleaning now, if you want."

Kreacher bowed and went back to his dusting.

My whole S.P.E.W thing has kind of taken a back-seat. Watching how happy Kreacher was to serve Harry, when Harry treated him kindly, made me realise that stopping House-elves working would be cruel. So, instead, I only campaign (in my free time) for House-elves to be treated well when in service, not made free. And, so far, it seems to be working well.

In fact, Emerald was a House-elf I rescued from a family who treated her terribly. Now though, she's quite happy to serve her new master, due to the fact that he is kind to her and would never dream of punishing her for, let's say, leaving one tiny crease in his robes.

I smiled slightly as Kreacher began singing to himself and turned round to go into the living room.

As I opened the door, Harry and Ron looked round guiltily at me.

"Hermione, you're back!" cried Harry, looking flustered.

Ignoring how obviously the conversation-topic must've changed, I said, "Yeah, I had to make a call. Got any further?"

"No," said Ron, looking depressed.

I ignored him.

"Ooh, brainwave!" said Harry, looking excited. "Why don't I get that old potions book down, the one I used in Sixth year that turned out to be Snape's. It might help us. Oh!! 'Prince'! Maybe he was talking about himself!! Hang on two seconds, I'll just go and find it!"

I watched Harry run excitedly out of the room with a slightly bemused look on my face, which then changed to panic as I realised I was alone in the room with Ron.

"So-" began Ron, but I cut him off.

"Don't."

Ron looked confused.

"Don't…what?"

"Don't talk to me," I snapped at him, walking towards the door that led to the garden, desperate not to be alone with him because I knew that if I stayed too much longer I was likely to let rip and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stop.

"What's…what's the matter?" asked Ron, looking completely bewildered.

"What's the matter? _What's the matter_?!" I repeated, whirling around to look at him, laughing incredulously at his sheer stupidity.

"I can't believe you, Ron Weasley, I really can't! If you cannot figure out why I don't _ever_ want to speak to you again, then you're more even more ignorant than I thought!"

Ron blinked, looking thoroughly taken aback by my outburst.

"Hermione, please, I honestly have no idea what you're t-"

"Oh, Hermione, we need to talk!" I mimicked, fists clenched as I advanced on him. "Oh, Hermione, I'm in love with you!"

"But I am in love with y-"

_Crack!_

Ron recoiled as my hand made contact with his face.

"Don't!" I cried, tears starting to run down my cheeks. "Don't say that! Don't do this to me _again_! _I can't take it anymore!_"

Ron lifted his head, his cheek turning bright red.

"One minute you're all, "I love you, Hermione" and the next you're shacked up with Lavender, doing God knows what-"

"Hermione, that isn't-"

"Shut up! Just shut up! I don't want-I don't need-I just want this to stop! This isn't-_I can't cope anymore, Ron!_ I can't love you – not like this!"

I saw Ron's eyes widen but I ploughed on.

"You can't do this to people, you can't mess with peoples' heads this way! What in the _hell_ gives you the _right_ to treat me this way?! I have tried _so_ hard with you, Ron – made up with you after fights, fought battles for you – and this is how you repay me?! What – you get some twisted kick out of doing this to me; causing me this much _pain?_"

"You think I get a kick out of _seeing_ you like this?!" asked Ron angrily. "What kind of monster do you think I am?!"

"Evidently one in complete denial!" I screamed at him, my face turning red with fury. "Do you hate me, Ron, is that it? Is this some kind of…_payback_ for not going to the Yule Ball with you? Because that is _really_ the only thing I can think of that I've done to bruise your ego _this much_. I mean, it's a pretty petty thing to still be hung up on, seeing as it was, like, eight years ago, but hey, if you can't move on then-"

"Don't you _dare_ be so patronising to me!" roared Ron, stopping me mid-sentence.

I gaped at him – I'd never seen him this angry before.

"You think that you haven't done _anything_, Hermione?!" spat Ron, looking disbelieving. "How about abandoning your friends for two years and shacking up with Vicky?!"

Oh, he has just crossed _the line_!

"So it's Viktor?!" I screamed at him. "This all because of _Viktor Krum_?! Well, at least you've finally _admitted_ it!"

"Yeah, I have!" yelled Ron. "You dumped me and all your friends, just so you could get a good sh-"

"Oh, what – like you did with Lavender, you mean, and still are doing?!"

Nausea flitted across Ron's face.

"So what if I am?" he said coldly, jutting his chin out defiantly. "What business is it of yours?!"

"What business is it of yours what I do with Viktor?!" I screeched at him, tears of frustration and anger leaking out from the corners of my eyes.

"Because he's using you!" bellowed Ron. "You're a member of the 'Golden Trio' – you helped defeat Voldemort-!"

"So did he, you penis!"

"He wants to use you to up his celebrity!"

"He's the best bloody Seeker in the _world_ you idiot! He doesn't need _me_ for that!"

"Then he's just using you for sex and you're too blind to see it! Plus, he's too old for you, Hermione-"

"_Too old?!_ I'm twenty three, Ron, you bloody idiot, not fifteen! Viktor is _three years older than me_! Lupin was _decades_ older than Tonks and you never complained about _that_!"

"That's because Lupin _loved_ Tonks-"

"And Viktor _loves_ _me_, you troll!"

"No he doesn't!"

"Yes he bloody well _does_, Ron!"

"Well, then, do you love him?!"

Pause.

Huge, painful silence.

"Yes, I love him," I stammered, turning scarlet.

Ron's lip curled up as he looked at me with sudden realisation.

"You don't love him, do you?" he said slowly, laughing giddily. "You're sleeping with him and you don't even love him!"

"No, it's not-"

"Not what? I can't believe you Hermione!"

"That's because there's nothing to believe, you stupid great buffoon! I am-"

"Sleeping with a guy I don't love!"

"For crying out loud, Ron, _I am not sleeping with Viktor Krum!_"

"Um, Herm-own-ninny?"


	13. Friends, Brains and Clues

**Heya! Chapter 15 will have the Trio's answer to Snape's riddle, but I'd be really interested to see what ideas people have come up with, so if you do think you know what the riddle is, please mail me – then I can see how close you got:P**

**Thanks for reading!!:)**

_Beneath the surface_

_And perhaps a long way off_

_Lay the answers_

I whirled round to see Viktor Krum stood in the doorway, a pretty blonde at his side.

"Um, is this bad time?" he asked uncertainly, glancing at Ron, who looked like he was about to explode.

"No!" I snapped harshly, then realised it wasn't Viktor I was mad at and said more gently, "No, it's fine."

I walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

I then grinned at the blonde and gave her a hug.

Turning back to face Ron, I said through gritted teeth, "Ron, I'd like you to meet Scarlett Annewinton – Viktor's _fiancée._"

The stunned look on Ron's face was priceless.

Serves him right, the inconsiderate toad.

"Scarlett is a nurse in Bulgaria. She treats patients with _mental-disabilities_," I finished pointedly.

Comprehension dawned on Ron's face (for the first time ever) and he turned even redder.

Resisting the urge to roll me eyes, I said to Viktor and Scarlett, "I apologise for the greeting you received – Ron and I were just having a minor disagreement-"

A _teensy_ white lie, but never mind.

"-But I'm quite sure that the issue has now been resolved."

If Ron still believes that I'm sleeping with Viktor then he should really contact Gregory Goyle and ask him if he can be his new best friend.

Because they're both really stupid…and stuff.

Whatever.

Anyways, I showed Viktor and Scarlett into the dining room, where Kreacher had, as instructed, laid out a feast.

Feeling a slight pang of nostalgia for Hogwarts, I indicated that they should take a seat (I was ignoring Ron) and then went in search of Harry, who would surely kill me if I left him out of such an important meeting.

As I left the room, I heard Ron say, "So, you're not dating Hermione then?"

Oh lord, give me _strength!_

I found Harry in the attic, ankle-deep in dust and rubbish.

"Harry, you really should get Kreacher to clean in here once in a while," I said, stepping gingerly over a discarded potions kit, which had started to leak.

"He already did but it just keeps coming back…"

"Have you any idea what's causing it?" I asked concernedly, trying a vanishing spell on a small patch in front of me, which caused the amount in the room to multiply.

"_Don't_ do that!" cried Harry, bolting over to me and grabbing my wrist.

A searing pain shot through it and we both yelped.

"Ow!"

"_Ow,_ _bloody hell, Harry,_ do you _wanna_ grip it any tighter?!"

"Sorry," muttered Harry, rubbing his own wrist. "Must've gotten a static shock off you or something."

"I'll say," I growled, rubbing my wrist too. "You could've just disarmed me or something!"

"Sorry, it's just that, if you vanish the dust, it just makes it multiply instead!"

"Yeah, I _had _actuallynoticed that!" I snarled, glaring at him.

Harry looked quite frightened.

I think I might still have been channelling some Ron-induced anger.

"Sorry," I apologised, "I'm kind of annoyed at…somebody."

He gave me a knowing look.

"Shut up."

Harry grinned.

"So, yeah, uh, who did this whole…dust-thing?" I asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

Harry smirked.

"Harry…" I said warningly.

He coughed and said, "Uh, Fred and George. Big shock there."

Ahh.

Makes sense.

"How? Did they do it, I mean."

"Uh, well…they gave Sirius this dust-buster toy a couple of months back. I assumed it was used to like, get rid of dust, but it turns out it _makes_ dust."

"And the point of that being…?" I enquired.

"To "keep the grown-ups out of the way whilst you're causing mischief" – or so the label says. The thing is, the part about how to get rid of the dust has _conveniently_ fallen off, so it looks like, until I have time to go and wring their necks, we're going to have to deal with having an attic full of ankle-deep dust, which will no doubt increase as the charm gets older. Oh what joy."

I sniggered. Fred and George really were the masters of humour and chaos. Even during the Great War they were laughing 'til the end.

Shame their pranks are so damned annoying.

On to more pressing matters, I finally got to why I'd come to find him in the first place.

"Have you found the potions book yet?"

"No," he said, sounding disappointed. "I think I might've chucked it away."

"Oh, well, never mind because there's someone I want you to meet."

Harry looked at me curiously.

"Who is it?"

"Come downstairs and you'll find out," I grinned.

Looking suspicious, he dissapparated.

Following suit, I materialised next to him at the foot of the stairs.

"This way," I said, walking towards the dining room.

Harry followed me, and, upon seeing Viktor, gave a yell of surprise.

"Viktor!"

Viktor looked up and smiled.

"Harry," he said, getting to his feet. "How nice it is to see you again."

They embraced and some masculine back-slapping ensued.

When everyone had been properly introduced and plates had been piled high, Harry turned to Viktor and said, "So, what brings you here? Not that I'm not pleased to see you of course!"

Viktor swallowed his mouthful of pumpkin juice, looked at me and then looked at Harry.

"Vell, Scarlett and I returned from vun of my games, and Emerald, our House-elf, told me that Herm-own-ninny had called and that ve vere needed at the Potter residence, so ve flooed here as soon as ve possibly could."

Harry frowned and looked at me.

Realising some sort of explanation was in order, I laid down my knife and fork and addressed the table.

"Well, Harry, Ron and I found a, er, book in Harry's attic, which we think may have been some sort of diary. The problem is, although it's in English, the writing, or so it appears, is just ramblings. We showed it to Harry's wife, Ginny, who suggested that it might have been written by someone who was mentally unstable-"

I felt Harry shift slightly as he realised where this was going.

Ron even put his knife and fork and down.

"-Which is where you come in, Scarlett."

Scarlett nodded.

"You vould like me to see if I can make any sense of these…_ramblings._"

"Exactly," I said, nodding too. "If you're willing, that is."

Scarlett smiled.

"Of course I am, Herm-own-ninny. Do you have the book?"

Harry looked at me in alarm.

"Um," I stammered, thinking fast, "No, it wouldn't, uh, it wouldn't let me remove it from the attic. But I made a copy of everything it said, so there's not a problem."

I dug into my jeans pocket and handed over the scrap of paper I'd written Snape's words on.

Scarlett unfolded it and began to study it:

"The bird doesn't sing anymore. She was such a pretty girl. Fire flowed from her head. The jerk and his dog stoked the flame. The snow-white queen and the dark-lidded princess came to tea. No! You cannot speak of it. The queen and I shared a common goal. 1978 is me. Snivellus, Snivelly! The jerk and his dog dangled the prince – the saint's bank showed the snake it. 1978 is me. But the jerk and his dog could no longer sniff out the prince. And the snake, weasel and beaver cannot find the ferret. 1978 is me. All for one but none for three, none for four. The one all alone. The fortress is where it is hidden, dark eyes sparkling – time is ticking forward - its cold heart beating a new tune. Love is never ending, for it shall come alive at the sound of three. The answer lies and the lies answer inside the fortress. For three, not four, it's the end for me!"

After a few minutes, she folded the piece of paper in half and spoke to Harry, Ron and I.

"Do you know who wrote this?"

We all looked at each other uncertainly. To tell the truth or not to tell the truth?

That was the question.

Harry finally said, "Yes, we believe it was written by an old friend of ours, but we haven't seen him since the war."

"Ah, good. That should help greatly. Vould you like me to tell you now vot my ideas are or vould you prefer to finish dinner first?"

"Dinner first," answered Ron immediately.

I rolled my eyes.

"Very well," she smiled, getting back to her roast lamb.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, we all headed into the living room.

Harry, Ron and I squashed onto the sofa (sadly, I had to sit next to Ron) and Viktor and Scarlett settled comfortably into their armchairs.

"Ok," began Scarlett, quickly scanning the parchment she'd taken from me, "The first thing that struck me ven I read it vas your friend's numerous references to animals: bird, dog, snake, veasel, beaver and ferret. I believe these are code names for people – perhaps people he did not think very highly of. The second thing I am thinking is that there is something…_important_ as to viy he keeps saying that he is 1978."

"It was the number he had around his neck," I said.

They all looked at me.

Oh sh-

"There was a picture in the book," I said hurriedly.

I saw Scarlett raise her eyebrows slightly.

"Interesting…Vell, I vundered vether it vos perhaps a reference to the year '1978' not the number 'vun-nine-seven-eight."

Harry frowned.

"A date?"

"Yes. Does 1978 mean anything to you?"

"Not yet," muttered Harry.

"Ok, vell the only other thing I thought that vould maybe be of use to you and is the only other thing I could… deduce, do you say? ... is that the 'fortress' is a place – possibly Hogvorts, or sumver similar - and that vatever these 'answers' are vould be found at this place at the time of three, but vether he means three in the morning or three in the evening, I could not say. Apart from that I apologise but I cannot help you any more than this."

"Oh, no, you've done brilliantly Scarlett!" I said, quickly scribbling down the last thing she'd said. "This should help us no end - thank you so much!"

Scarlett smiled and went to sit on Viktor's lap.

I glanced at both Harry and Ron and we all returned meaningful looks – as soon as Scarlett and Viktor left, we had some serious analysis to do!


	14. PaySlips, Bills and Lunacy

_Ignorance_

_Is no excuse_

_For stupidity_

Viktor and Scarlett left a few hours later, leaving a very tense Harry, Ron and I in their wake.

As soon as they disappeared into the fire, we rushed into the dining room, firmly closing the door behind us and casting the _muffliato_ spell, so as not to be over-heard (we trusted Kreacher, but we were worried someone would enter the house without our knowledge and hear what we were talking about).

As soon as Harry had cast the spell, I said, "When did we get so stupid?"

Harry and Ron looked at me in confusion

"What do you mean?"

"Well, half the stuff Scarlett said, we could've worked out for ourselves! I mean, it's totally obvious, _now_, that the animals are actually _people_, but four hours ago we thought they were pets! How in the hell we managed to find those Horcruxes, when we are as dim as this, is beyond me!"

Harry and Ron looked ashamed.

"We are older though…" Ron tried.

"Oh yes, twenty-three is just _ancient_! You're such a pleb Ron-"

"OKAAAY!" said Harry quickly, standing between me and Ron. "Let's not get side-tracked. Hermione, you sit there…" he pointed at one side of the table, "…and Ron, you sit there," he pointed at the other side.

Ron and I both glared at each other as we sat down in our assigned seats.

He's such an idiot. I don't know why I even like him.

I mean, _did_ like him. I totally don't like him now.

Uh hum.

Harry took the seat next to me and firmly cast a shield spell between me and Ron.

"Just in case," he said, in answer to our affronted looks.

Pursing my lips, I leant back in my chair and crossed my arms, making it perfectly clear that I was annoyed.

"Now, to quote you, Hermione, "we mustn't fight". If you two can't be civil to one another, for whatever the reason is this time, then I'll refuse to let you two be on this investigation anymore. Do you understand?"

Oh, I hate it when Harry pulls rank on us.

Grudgingly, we both answered, "Yes."

Ron looked as though he'd swallowed a lemon. Whole.

"Good," said Harry, dragging his chair closer to the table. "Now let's get on to what Scarlett said…"

He paused.

"What _did_ she say, Hermione?"

Sighing audibly, I placed the parchment I'd taken notes on onto the table and then resumed my previous position.

Harry looked at me expectantly.

"_What?_" I said roughly, looking daggers at him.

"Could you read it out to us, please, Hermione," he responded, his voice irritatingly authoritative.

Muttering under my breath, I grabbed the paper back off of the table and said, as patronisingly as I could, "Well, small children who are apparently incapable of reading for themselves, Scarlett told the big lady that she thought that the horrid man's references to animals were actually code-names for people. She also told the lady that she thought that the man may have been talking about the year 1978, not the number one-nine-seven-eight, and that Hogwarts may be the place where the answers to the questions that the big lady and the small children asked the horrid man lie and that 3am or 3pm may be a good time to find out. Good enough for you, Harry?"

Harry inclined his head slightly.

"It'll do. So, any ideas on what it could all mean, Hermione? You're normally good at this kind of thing."

I didn't answer immediately. There was something in Snape's ramblings that kept coming to my attention but for the life of me, I couldn't quite work out what it was.

Deciding that I wouldn't be able to concentrate with Harry and Ron crowding me and breathing down my neck, I stood up and said, "Not yet. I'm going to go to my room and see if I can do better there. I'll call you, if I find anything."

"Ok, then," nodded Harry, taking down the shield-charm as I left.

I decided to walk round to my house, instead of apparating.

Feeling strangely free, I stepped out into the evening air and breathed it in, marvelling at how bright the moon was.

If there were any werewolves around, they couldn't ask for a nicer night to transform in.

Although, to be fair, I doubt the niceness of the night is the first thing on their minds, but never mind.

Searching in my pocket for my keys, I found them, along, for some strange reason, with Ron's deluminator.

Slightly confused but not really bothered, I put it back in my pocket and opened the front door.

With a wave of my wand the lights switched on and I picked up the small pile of letters that had been dropped onto the doormat, through our newly installed owl-box (no mess – no stress).

"Bill, bill," I muttered, flipping through them, "Another bill, post-card, bill, ooh and my pay-slip!"

Dumping the bills and post-card on the kitchen table, I tore open my pay-slip and grinned at how much I'd been paid: 500 galleons – not bad for not doing a lot. Plus, after Ron and I had split all the bills, I'd get to spend the rest of it all on myself!

I'm not selfish at all!

Filing away my pay-slip, I picked up the post-card and burst out laughing when I saw the picture on the front of it.

Luna, her blonde-hair whipping around her face, was posing with what can only be described as a lamb, with the body of a hedgehog and the legs and tale of a pig, standing on the edge of a very high-up ledge.

Flipping the post-card over, I read what she had to say about her rather odd-looking friend:

_Greetings, friends who dwell in wetter climates (i.e. England),_

_I am saddened to have to inform you that I have abandoned my search for the Crumple-Horned-Snorkack, as I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't, in fact, exist (you were right, Hermione!). I have, however, happened upon the delightful creature that is the Hogambig (I am pictured with it on the front of the post-card). I discovered it in Australia, when I accidentally apparated into a rather large cavern. I find it a most enchanting creature and, I am told, it is said to have many magical properties. I am now arranging for the little fellow to accompany me back to England, along with a friend I have also made. He is a rather dashing man, it has to be said, and I am quite certain that, with all these Aphrodisium pixies in the air, we shall soon become an item. It's all quite exciting really. Anyway, I must dash – I can hear the Bearwhale's call and I really can't afford to miss such a fantastic sight that is the Bearwhale's mating dance. I'm looking forward to hearing from you and Ron soon, and hope that perhaps you will find time in your very busy schedules to come and visit me when I return._

_Happy Saturday,_

_Lots of love,_

_Luna xxxx_

Shaking my head, but grinning all the same, I took the post-card and pinned it onto the cork-board that was hanging on the wall. I watched Luna's image, care-free and confident, for a moment, then went into the fridge and poured myself some smoothie.

Taking a sip, I headed upstairs to my room, and was repulsed by the pungent odour I encountered when I entered.

Breathing through my mouth, I quickly searched for the source of the smell and found a rather dead-looking mouse on my bed.

Scrunching my nose up, I levitated the mouse into the waste-paper bin and, after tying a knot in the bag that lined it, I hastily levitated the bag out of my open window into the wheelie bin that was just to the right of the house.

After muttering a number of cleaning spells, I went into the bathroom to wash my hands, just in case some essence of dead-mouse had contaminated them.

Admittedly, I didn't actually touch the mouse, but you can never be too careful!

As I returned to my room, I noticed Crookshanks slinking down the stairs.

"Don't think I don't know who left that disgusting mess on my bed," I called after him. "I'd watch my tail, if I were you, mister!"

He just ignored me.

Feeling slightly unloved, I sat down at my desk and pulled (for what felt like the thousandth time that day) the piece of parchment I'd written Snape's ramblings down on out of my pocket.

Setting it down on the desk, I grabbed a quill and, after dipping it in some ink, poised it above the parchment, ready to scribble away.

Unfortunately, I was having a rather large case of analysis-block, and so the only exciting thing that happened was the ink on the end of the quill dripping and making a rather impressive splatter on the middle of the page, obscuring half of what I'd written on it.

After siphoning off the unwanted ink, I sat for over an hour and a half, pondering and writing, refilling my glass at alternate intervals, and occasionally – _only _occasionally – think of Ron and about the argument we'd had earlier.

By ten to midnight I'd moved on to coffee, and it was whilst I was refilling my second cup that I noticed it, perched on the end of my bookshelf – a photograph of the New Order of the Phoenix.

Getting up off of my computer-chair, I walked over to the bookshelf and picked it up.

Ignoring how close Ron and I were standing, my eyes settled on Sirius, who was alternately switching from human form to animagus form and back again, and suddenly, I knew what Snape was talking about.


	15. Anger, Answers and Exclamations

**Just out of sheer curiosity, when you next review, could you say whether you are male or female, because it would be interesting to see what kind of audience I have. If you don't want to say, then that's perfectly fine! Enjoy******

_Just because it appears_

_That the answers have been found_

_It doesn't mean to say_

_That the end is near_

I stared at the photo, then reached for my quill and parchment. I hastily re-read what Snape had said, and began writing down some notes, berating myself for not having realised before.

Once I'd finished scribbling, I grabbed the telephone that was sat on my bedside table and punched in the number for Harry's house, drumming my fingers impatiently on the table as I breathlessly waited for him to answer.

Harry finally picked up, and as soon as he did, I screamed, "_I've got it!_"

Harry yelled as my scream shattered his ear-drum.

"_Ow! Jesus Christ, Hermione!_"

"Stop being a wuss, Harry, and listen to me - I've deciphered Snape's code!"

There was a tiny pause as the words registered with him, and then he yelled, "You have?! What is it?!"

"Ow! Deafen me, why don't you, Harry?!"

"Shut up, Hermione, and just tell me what he was saying!"

"You're really rude, do you know that?"

"_Hermione!_"

"Ok, ok! Come round now and bring Ron."

The phone went dead and just as I was putting it back in its holder there was a loud crack behind me and a grunt as one of Ron's feet landed in the waste-paper bin.

"Hermione, you've moved the bloody bin!"

I looked round at him, disdain etched across my face.

"It's not my fault you're not a very accurate apparater, is it, Ron?"

Ron turned red and opened his mouth to retort but Harry intervened.

"Hermione, Ron isn't a bad apparater, and Ron, shut up."

Ron looked affronted.

"I didn't even say anything!"

"But you were going to," replied Harry, looking weary, "And that's all that matters."

Ron glared at him and then at me.

I reciprocated his look and then said, "You ready to hear the answers?"

Ron's face instantly switched from annoyed to alert and the same happened to Harry's weary face.

Without waiting for a verbal response, I continued, "I can't believe we didn't see it before, but that doesn't matter now. I'll read to you, again, what Snape actually said, and then I'll translate it into what, I think, he meant."

I cleared my throat and then read, "_The bird doesn't sing anymore. She was such a pretty girl. Fire flowed from her head. The jerk and his dog stoked the flame. The snow-white queen and the dark-lidded princess came to tea. No! You cannot speak of it. The queen and I shared a common goal. 1978 is me. Snivellus, Snivelly! The jerk and his dog dangled the prince – the saint's bank showed the snake it. 1978 is me. But the jerk and his dog could no longer sniff out the prince. And the snake, weasel and beaver cannot find the ferret. 1978 is me. All for one but none for three, none for four. The one all alone. The fortress is where it is hidden, dark eyes sparkling – time is ticking forward - its cold heart beating a new tune. Love is never ending, for it shall come alive at the sound of three. The answer lies and the lies answer inside the fortress. For three, not four, it's the end for me!_"

Conjuring up a glass of water, I took a sip, and then cast a spell on the paper to make it show my thoughts, and watched in fascination as the letters rearranged themselves.

I then read it out again, but this time, the words were completely different:

"_Phoenix doesn't sing anymore. Lily Evans was such a pretty girl, with flaming red hair. James Potter and Sirius Black antagonised her. Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange came to visit. An Unbreakable-Vow was made. Both Snape and Malfoy were interested in keeping Draco Malfoy safe. 1978 was when I became free, became myself. Snivellus, Snivelly – the nick-names given to me by Potter and his friends. Potter and Black dangled me upside down – Harry Potter saw it in Dumbledore's pensieve. 1978 was when I became free, became myself. Potter and Black could not find Snape. And Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger cannot find Draco Malfoy. 1978 was when I became free, became myself. For Snape and Draco, freedom and enjoyment was theirs, but it wasn't for Potter, Weasley, Granger, Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew. What they wanted or what they needed could no longer be obtained. Hogwarts holds the answer as to how Snape and Draco escaped their tormenters clutches. Something that has long since been dead will become alive again as the mystery needs to be solved. Love that was once shared will again be shared and all this will happen when the clock strikes three. When the spell is broken, I shall no longer exist…_"

I finished reading and looked up at the stunned looks on Harry and Ron's faces.

"You're bloody brilliant, Hermione," said Ron, looking at me in awe.

"Who would've thought it – Snape wasn't being as completely incoherent as we thought!" said Harry, eyebrows raised. "How in the hell did you come up with _that_?"

"You don't think I'm right," I frowned, feeling slightly wounded.

"No, no, it's not that. I think you could definitely be on to something there, but how? What made you think of it?"

"Oh," I said, smiling and looking down at the picture I'd dropped on my desk. "This."

Harry and Ron imitated my action and gazed down at all the smiling faces gazing back at them.

"The New Order?" said Ron, looking confused.

"Look at Sirius," I said, pointing at the picture.

Ron frowned and did as he was told.

Harry looked too, and I could tell that he understood what I meant, because as soon as he saw Sirius change into a dog he said softly, "Aah."

Ron looked utterly bewildered.

"What?! How are you getting her? I don't get it!"

Looking to the heavens, I said, as slowly as I could, "Ron – Look. At. The. Picture. Sirius is a dog… someone important mentioned a dog…work out the connection-"

A small crease appeared between Ron's eyebrows, and then, finally, he understood.

"Ohhhh…"

"_And_ he's with us," I muttered under my breath.

"So, how did you get the rest of it, then?" asked Harry, ignoring my comment.

"Well," I said, taking a deep breath, "The whole dog-thing had really been playing on my mind – I knew there was something in it we'd encountered before, but I just couldn't work out what. Then, as soon as I saw Sirius changing into his animagus form, everything just slotted into place. I remembered you telling me, Harry, about the scene you witnessed in Dumbledore's pensieve (the Saint's bank), where Snape had been humiliated, and that, due to almost regular humiliation because of him, Snape hated your dad, so it seemed fitting that he would refer to him as a 'jerk'. And of course, Sirius was your dad's best friend, so obviously 'the jerk and his dog' was your dad and Sirius. Then, before, Snape mentioned a girl, who had fire flowing from her head, and who was antagonised by the dog – Sirius - and the jerk - Harry's dad - so that girl just had to be Harry's mum, Lily! And, as Harry had already realised 'the prince' was Snape, it was easy to decipher that because James and Sirius bullied him, he did something so that they couldn't find him.

Then, the rest all just made sense – Dumbledore was regarded as a saint – so Snape referred to him as one. And we all know that Phoenix disappeared after Dumbledore died. As for the code-names – we've all been called those things in the past, or been referenced to that animal – Harry, because you used to be able to speak to snakes; Ron, because of your surname, and Malfoy's immaturity; and me, because I used to have big front-teeth. And who can forget that brilliant moment in fourth year, when impostor-Moody transfigured Malfoy into a ferret! It seems like Snape is suggesting that time's kind of repeated itself – both Snape and Malfoy wanted or needed to disappear – Malfoy because of the unbreakable vow Snape made with Narcissa Malfoy – and so Snape found a way to do that. But it looks as though, once that spell is broken, Snape will die, because he cast the spell as part of the unbreakable vow. Which I think is really quite sad-"

"Oh, come on, Hermione!" exclaimed Harry, looking astounded. "How can you feel sorry for that ba-"

"-But we still don't know where his allegiance really lay, do we?! He could be innocent for all we know! I mean, what if he is innocent? If we find Malfoy, he'll die, and we'd be responsible for that!"

"Hermione, Snape is not innocent! Innocent people don't go round murdering people!"

"Harry's got a point, Hermione," said Ron.

"I wasn't talking to you," I snarled at him.

Ron held his hands up in mock-surrender.

"Alright, keep your hair on, I was only saying!"

"Well don't," I snapped.

"Hermione, look," cut in Harry quickly, once again diverting an argument between Ron and I, "It doesn't matter whether Snape was innocent or not – he's not important to us."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Harry barrelled on, "What _is_ important, however, is catching Malfoy, because we know for a fact that he was, and probably still is, embroiled in the Dark Arts. He could become a danger to society, and I know, Hermione, that you don't want that to happen. We have to regard this case like any other, and not let our personal feelings get in the way, understood?"

"Fine," I muttered, annoyed that Harry had over-ruled me again.

"Good. So, we've de-riddled Snape's ramblings… what the hell do we do next?"


	16. Work, Worries and Wonder

_Women aren't always_

_The objects of affection_

_For every man_

And the mystery has been solved – we finally know where Draco Malfoy is, yippee!!!

Ok, so I'm totally kidding.

We're no closer to finding Malfoy than the Sultan of Brunei is to marrying Ron.

Although it would be really funny to see him being hit on by a guy – he'd probably, like, self-combust or something.

Anyway, leaving the land of the imaginary and entering the world of the very very real, it is safe to say that Harry, Ron and I are completely and utterly stumped.

Heaven forbid anyone tails us when we're 'working' – I highly doubt we'd still have jobs if they did. The wizarding world should most definitely not be feeling safe whilst we're in charge.

I mean, we're not _completely_ useless – we just… take our time when it comes to solving crimes. A bit like on that detective show that's set in some sleepy village in England, where about a thousand people die before the culprit is actually caught.

Not that anyone's ever been _murdered_ since Harry's been Head Auror – we're not _that_ bad.

Uh hum.

Moving on…

After our initial joy at finally working out what Snape had been talking about, we soon realised that, er, well, the end wasn't very nigh.

Although we now know _why_ we can't find Malfoy, it hasn't made him suddenly appear again.

Some detective-ness is most definitely needed.

Which is why, after a rather long break, Harry, Ron and I are _finally_ returning to work – about two weeks later than planned, admittedly, but it's not my fault Snape gave me a major head injury, is it?!

Getting up at seven am is no mean feat when you're used to lazing around in a hospital bed.

To be fair, I do actually like work – not as much as I liked school (because attending Hogwarts was the best experience of my life), but work isn't lagging too far behind.

Something interesting always happens, and today was going to be no exception…

"Hermione, darling!" trilled Richard, as he rushed towards me and kissed the air above both of my cheeks.

I returned his kisses with a grin.

Oh, it was good to be back with the sane again!

"Goodness gracious me!" exclaimed Richard, pulling away from me and looking me up and down. "You look like you've been in the wars!"

Frowning, I looked down at myself.

Clean white blouse?

Check.

Smart, black jacket?

Check.

Comfortable black flats and office-standard trousers?

Double check.

Looking back up at Richard, I said, slightly annoyed, "What?"

Richard looked flabbergasted.

"Hermione, sweetheart, if you've decided to give-up on fashion altogether, you could at least warn a man – my heart's not as young as it once was, you know!"

I stared at him incredulously.

"This isn't unfashionable!" I retorted, unable to keep the hurt out of my voice.

Richard just raised his eyebrows ironically.

"In the late 20th Century, no. But now, when women don't have to dress like men to be taken seriously, it really really is. How are you ever going to snare a man looking like _that_?"

I gaped at him.

"Uh, _one_, this outfit is comfortable, and _two_, who am I going to want to snare? All men are idiots!"

Richard raised his eyebrows again.

"Present company excluded, obviously," I said quickly.

"I should think so," he replied, taking out his wand and studying me closely.

I looked at it suspiciously.

"Richard...what are you doing…?"

"Oh, just making a few calculations," he grinned mischievously.

"What _kind_ of calculations," I asked sharply.

"Whether you're a ten or a twelve, and whether you'd benefit better from a grey or black pencil-skirt."

"What?!"

"Now, Hermione, don't look so scandalised-"

"A twelve?! I'm not a twelve!"

Richard laughed.

"Can this be? Hermione Granger, worried about her weight?"

I glared at him.

"Only since some skinny little…_ girl_ started sliming about recently."

Richard looked interested.

"Ooh, and who might that be?" he asked keenly.

Never one to miss out on a bit of bitching and back-stabbing, our Richard.

"God, you don't even want to know," I said heavily, looking towards the heavens.

"Ah, well, we can bitch later. Right now, the most important thing to do is to make you look presentable. So, let's just-"

"Woah!" I said, backing away from him and holding my hands up. "What are you going to do?"

"Make you irresistible," he replied, with a cheeky wink.

"If you make me look like a tart…"

"Trust me, the men in here will hardly be able to take their eyes off of you," smirked Richard, raising his wand.

Rolling my eyes, I nodded my agreement.

"Very good. Now, close your eyes…"

I did as I was told.

"…and count to three…"

One…two…

I would've reached three, if it hadn't have been for the fact that it felt like someone had squashed my entire upper-body (excluding my head, neck and shoulders, obviously) into a very tight corset.

Which was, in fact, exactly what they _had_ done.

"Oh my god!" I screeched, looking down at myself. "What am I _wearing_?!"

Richard was admiring my new attire and so did not answer my question.

"Richard!"

"You look absolutely amazing," he said, looking satisfied.

Self-congratulate much?

"Richard, I look like a naughty-secretary!"

"No way! You look like a _hot_ secretary."

"And the difference is?!"

"You 'aint gonna strip for us, love."

"Riiiccchhhaaarrrrdd!" I whined, practically in hysterics.

"Hermione, believe me, you look great. In fact, I'll prove it to you. Next guy that comes through the door, I guarantee you, when he sets eyes on you, he's gonna have a hard time looking away."

"But, Richard, I'm wearing a corset!!"

"Underneath your top, so no-one's going to see it! Unless, of course, you decide to take up the naughty-secretary thing after all," he added, with a saucy laugh.

"You are so lucky that I like you," I snarled at him threateningly.

"Oh, lighten up, Hermione! Look, here comes some guy now!"

I looked round and inwardly groaned.

That 'some guy' just happened to be Ronald Weasley.

You couldn't make it up.

I watched Ron glance absentmindedly around the room, do a double-take when he caught sight of me, and promptly walk smack-bang into a filing cabinet.

Biting my lip, I looked back at Richard who was howling with laughter.

"Oh, I love life!" he wheezed, clutching his rubs with one arm and wiping a tear from his eye with the other.

"It still doesn't prove anything," I hissed at him, self-consciously smoothing down my skirt. "Ron probably just couldn't believe how tight my skirt was, that's all."

"Oh, that was _Ron?_" gasped Richard, his eyes widening. "God, I didn't even recognise him! What the hell's he done to his hair?!"

Had it cut, highlighted, and styled.

"I have no idea, and to be honest, I don't care," I replied snottily, walking away from him and taking a seat at my desk.

"You're such a bad liar, Hermione," sang Richard cheerfully, grabbing his own chair and pulling it up next to mine.

"Go away."

"I think you _love_ him, you want to _kiss_ him, _fu_-"

"_Richard!_"

"What?! It's true!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is _not!_"

"Is too infinity, plus one! HA _HA_!"

"I hate you."

"Not as much as lover boy does!"

"Huh? _Lover_ boy?" I said, looking round at Richard in complete confusion. "Who's _lover boy_?"

"Monsieur Weasley, of course!"

"He's _not_ my-"

"Well, he's certainly looking like it!" retorted Richard, nodding in Ron's direction.

I turned round to look at Ron, and found him glaring at Richard with complete and utter unadulterated jealousy.

"He still doesn't know you're gay, huh? What an idiot."


	17. Him, Her and Help

_Pink most definitely_

_Does not mix _

_Well with blue_

So, there I was, happily searching through records on Voldemort and his Death Eaters for something that might _remotely_ help us in our quest to find Draco Malfoy, when I heard Richard gasp, drop his quill and grab my arm (I felt that part).

"Who's worn sandals with socks this time?" I asked disinterestedly, scanning a page that detailed Lucius Malfoy's shoe-size (not so weird, it could be good for, like, matching foot-prints or whatever, but three whole _pages _dedicated to it?!)

"_Who, in all that is magical, is_ _that?!_" he hissed.

Glancing up and in the direction he was pointing, I nearly fell off of my chair.

There, in all her short-skirted-glory, was Lavender Brown.

And she wasn't exactly wearing a saintly t-shirt either.

I could feel my mouth hanging open, and I knew Richard's was doing the same.

I watched Lavender for about a second more (before I felt too ill to carry on looking) before I turned to Richard, who looked as sickened as I felt, and said, as calmly as I could, "Oh, her… she's Ron's latest squeeze."

As I waited for Richard to stop choking, I glanced around at how the rest of the office had reacted to her appearance.

I was gratified to see that all the women were staring daggers at her, but less pleased to see that most of the men were practically drooling over her.

Some people just have no taste.

Ignoring the fact that this assertion also included Ron, I turned my attention back to Richard, who had finally recovered enough to speak.

"_That_ is Ron's new _girlfriend_-?"

"Squeeze," I corrected him.

"Whatever. She looks like a fricking school girl who's tarted herself up to get noticed!"

Fighting hard not to squeal my approval of this comment, I said sternly to Richard, "Now, Richard, don't start getting all bitc-"

"Is this the girl who's been making you conscious about your body image?!"

"Erm, yes…"

"But she looks like a bloody horse!"

"Only her face…"

"That is beside the point and oh my _God_ what is she doing?!"

I whirled round to see Lavender draping herself around Ron, who was steadily turning redder and redder.

"Urgh," was all I could muster.

"But that's Ron!" exclaimed Richard, looking totally confused. "You _love_ him and she's like, _throwing_ herself at him!"

"Richard, read my lips: I. Do. Not. Care. And I don't love him."

"Oh my God, Hermione, your tongue is completely black!" gasped Richard.

"What?!"

"And look! It's just fallen onto the floor! Oh, Hermione, _please_, stop the lies! You'll have no body _left_ otherwise!"

"Oh, shut up."

"Move your arse then!"

"What?!" I said for the second time in all of about three seconds.

"Go and fight for your man!"

"I don't-"

"Go!"

And with that, he shoved me off of my chair.

Grumbling as I got back to my feet, and shooting a withering glare at Richard, I proceeded over to where Ron and Lavender were… working.

"Nice scarf, Ron – expensive, was it?"

Ron jumped about a mile, and tried to look round at me, but his movement was hindered somewhat by Lavender's controlling arms wrapped around his neck.

Choking a little, he tried to reply, but Lavender got in there first.

Story of my life.

Flicking her blonde hair out of her eyes, she grinned at me and said, "Hermione, how nice to see you!"

I can't say I can say the same to you, Lavender, but for the benefit of the office, I'll pretend that it's nice to see you too.

"The same to you," I simpered back, forcing a smile.

Lavender arched her back slightly and pulled away from Ron, careful to let her hand glide lightly over his back.

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe-

"I _love_ your outfit Hermione – very Fleur Delacour; sexy, with just a _hint_ of sophistication!"

I glanced at Ron, who looked completely bewildered, and tried very hard not to point out the fact that a. Fleur was Ron's sister-in-law, and Lavender had just completely insulted her, b. that she was now called Fleur Weasley, and c. that Lavender was an utter idiot and did not deserve Ron.

Ok, that last part wasn't strictly objective, but never mind.

Narrowing my eyes, I replied, "Oh, yours too. I could certainly never pull off such clashing colours."

Two spots of pink appeared on Lavender's already well blushed cheeks.

Well, if she's going to play dirty (again) then I'm going to have to play along too.

It's just good manners, isn't it?

"You're looking flustered, Lavender," I commented. "Finding life as an Auror's assistant a bit tough, are we?"

"Oh, you wish, Hermione," spat Lavender, losing her cool for the first time in six years.

In regards to me that is.

Slightly taken aback by her acidic tone, I glanced over at Richard, who, noticing the warning signs, stood up, exclaimed loudly, "Hermione! We're supposed to be working here, not having idle chats-!" and sauntered on over.

"-Except, of course," he smiled at Lavender, "If it's to welcome new colleagues. I'm Richard Fortesque. It's very nice to meet you, Miss…"

"Brown," answered Lavender, extending her arm and shaking Richard's already outstretched hand, "Lavender Brown."

Could she _sound_ anymore 007?!

"And it's lovely to meet you too, Richard," she added, making sure to roll her r's.

Richard gave Lavender another smile, completely blanked Ron, and said to me, "So, Hermione, are we still on for our date?"

"Pardon me?" I blurted out, without thinking.

"Our _date_!" Richard repeated pointedly. "Don't you remember?! I only asked you about half an hour ago!"

Cottoning on, I exclaimed, "Oh _that_ date! Sorry, it completely slipped my mind-"

"Can't have been too wonderful an offer then," muttered Ron under his breath, looking as though he wanted to curse Richard into oblivion.

"Or perhaps _some_ of us around here have actually been _working_," responded Richard, before I could even open my mouth, "and so that's why other things have slipped our minds! We can't all enjoy the luxury of a personal secretary, Weasley."

Eyebrows raised, I stared at Richard slightly incredulously.

"Richard-"

"-Oh, I'm just messing with you!" roared Richard, clapping Ron heartily on the back. "Perhaps I'll have my own personal secretary too, if things go well enough…" he added, giving me a wink.

Realising that this statement required some kind of response, I replied flirtily, "Now now, Richard – we don't want to make Lavender and Ron embarrassed!"

"Well, _actually_," piped up Ron, surprising me somewhat, "You never know – Lavender and I might end up in the same situation, seeing as how we're going on a date too!"

"_What?!_" I screeched.

"-A coincidence!" intervened Richard quickly, in a falsely cheery voice. "Hey, I know! Why don't we make it a double-date?! Then we can all get to know each other better! How does that sound?"

"It sounds _perfect_, Rich," answered Lavender, clapping her hands together. "We'll all meet here at, say, 1 'o clockish?"

Ron and I nodded dumbly, me because I was still too shocked to speak, and Ron because he is _way_ under the thumb.

"Fantastic!" cried Richard, taking hold of my arm and dragging me away from Ron and Lavender. "See you then!"

Once we had reached our desks, Richard flopped into his chair, and said, with a satisfied sigh, "Well, that couldn't have gone any better if I'd taken Felix Felicis!"

This comment finally snapped me out of my state of distress, and I cried disbelievingly, "Any _better?!_ That was the _worst_ experience of my _life! _Ron's asked Lavender on a date! A _date!_"

"I thought you didn't care?" said Richard slyly.

"Shut up."

"And in any case, Ron didn't ask Lavender on a date."

"Wha-are you _deaf?! _He just told us he had, _loud and clear!_"

"No, _you _asked Lavender on a date!"

"When on earth did I do that?!"

"When you agreed that you were going on a date with me. Did you not see Lavender's face when he announced it? She was as surprised as you were."

"Then why did she accept it?!"

"Because she's a manipulative little cow, out for anything she can get, especially if it's going to hurt somebody else."

"Wow, for someone who's just met her, you've made a startlingly good assessment of her character!"

"Well, I do try. Oh, and Hermione? I have never seen someone so jealous or as desperate to win your attention as Ron Weasley. And I've gotta say, love– win it he very much has."


	18. Lunch, Laughter and Loving

_Dinner dates_

_Are so much better_

_When you actually like_

_The person you're sat with_

So, 1 'o clock rolled around, and Ron, Lavender, Richard and I met up as arranged and headed over to Diagon Alley, where we decided to have lunch at Fortesque's, a new restaurant that had been opened in memory of Richard's uncle.

We were shown to our seats by an attractive blonde man, who unashamedly checked out Richard's bum as he set down my work bag, which he'd carried for me from the office – an action quickly imitated by Ron, who pulled Lavender's bag off her shoulder so quickly that she fell over.

It was a very funny time of my life.

Possibly one of the best, in fact.

Once we were all comfortably settled, the obviously gay waiter bought over our menus, careful to give Richard a rather smouldering look that made him smirk.

Eurgh, it's disgusting when other people have admirers and you don't.

Speaking of admirers, Ron's rather needy one was really putting on a show.

Whenever Richard made any kind of joke, she would roar with laughter, flipping her blonde hair back as she did so, and squeezing Ron's thigh, where she had firmly planted her hand.

Oh, how I despise that woman!

"So, Hermione," smirked Lavender now, finally turning her attention to me, "Are you and Richy a couple then?"

Richy?

"N-_ow-_yes!" I yelped, as Richard kicked me hard in the leg.

"Yes indeed!" grinned Richard, placing a hand on my thigh, and giving me a wink. "Partners in crime, aren't we babe?"

"Oh, completely, _babe_," I retorted, trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of my voice,

What in the hell was Richard _doing?!_

"Yeah," Richard continued, squeezing my leg a little too hard to be affectionate, "Well, who could resist Hermione? She's one of the hottest girls in the office! Don't you think so, Ron?"

I felt my eyes widen, and my heart quicken in panic.

Was he _insane?!_

Ron looked like he wanted to run away – the fear in his eyes was phenomenal.

Surely he could think of _some _way to tactfully say that he thought I was ugly?

"N-no," he stammered.

Apparently not.

I could feel myself turning absolutely beetroot and felt as though I wanted to cry. A lot.

Richard looked as surprised as I did hurt.

"You don't think Hermione's attractive, Ron?"

Ron opened his mouth to respond but, as per usual, Lavender-I'm-such-a-cow-Brown butted right in.

"Of course Ron doesn't think Hermione's hot!" she laughed breezily, giving Ron a slight shake as he stared embarrassedly down at his hands. "They're practically family! I mean, Ron's never seen Hermione like that, that's always been obvious, hasn't it sweetie?"

She's sweetie-ing him now?

God, I just want to go home.

When Ron didn't reply, Lavender barrelled on, "If you'd been with us at Hogwarts, Richy, you would've suggested that ear-muffs be included on the list of essential items! The amount of arguments these two had – unbelievable! There was this one time, at Christmas, after the Yule Ball, that these two had such a screaming match that even the _ghosts_ were afraid! I was forever feeling amazed at how you two _always_ made up sooner or later, no matter what had happened. That's _true_ friendship, that is."

She really knows how to drive the knife in, that one.

"Anyway, at Hogwarts, it was always Viktor, wasn't it, Hermione?"

That caught my attention.

And Ron's too, if the crick in his neck was anything to go by.

He really should learn to look up slower – his poor neck must be shot to pieces by now, the amount of times he's done that in the past few weeks.

"Yeah, Hermione," he piped up now, rubbing his neck, "Why don't you tell us all about good-old Vicky, and the two years you spent with him Bulgaria?"

"Oh my God!" squealed Lavender, spinning around to look at me, her face shining with anticipation. "You lived with Viktor Krum for two years?! How did I not know about this?!"

Because you're a self-absorbed prima donna, who doesn't pay any attention to other peoples' lives unless it's of any benefit to you?

…

I'm just _saying_!

"Well, Viktor's incredibly smart – smarter than a lot of people I know," I replied, shooting a rather pointed look at Ron.

He had the decency to blush, at least.

"He knows how to handle the media when it comes to personal matters. I needed some time out, and he was more than willing to give it to me."

"Oh, I bet he was," muttered Ron, looking pissed.

"Do you have a problem, Ron?" I asked jerkily, trying to control the anger that had instantly seethed through me at his words.

"No, not all," replied Ron stonily.

"Ok, you two," laughed Richard, looking slightly worried as the lights above us started to flicker and the table began to vibrate slightly, "Claws away. We don't want any magical mishaps! Why don't we move onto less perilous topics? Lavender, you and Ron seem pretty close – what's going on with you two? OW!"

I glared at Richard as I retracted my leg.

I was _not_ in the mood for Ron and Lavender talk. Especially now that my big toe hurt from kicking Richard so hard in the shin.

Thankfully, I was saved from this terrible fate by a loud commotion at the door.

We all looked round to see Harry weaving his way towards our table, an important-looking document clenched in his hand.

"Hermione, Ron," he gasped, as he reached our table. "I need a word… right now."

I glanced at Ron, who in turn glanced at Harry.

"Has something happened?" I asked uncertainly, as my heart skipped a beat.

"Is it Ginny?"

"No! No, nothing like that," said Harry, starting to look impatient. "I just need to talk to you about work stuff."

"Ohhh," I responded, finally catching on. "Oh, right, yes, sure, of course. Ron, come on, let's go."

As I pushed my chair back and stood up, Lavender said, looking slightly annoyed, "Are you coming back?"

"I don't know," replied Ron, not particularly politely, pushing his chair back, and grabbing his coat. "Just… just stay here with Fortesque, and I'll send you an owl if we aren't coming back."

"Sorry about this, Richard," I said, giving him a hug. "I'll make this up to you another time, I promise."

"No probs, babe," he responded, patting my bum. "I'll see you later."

With a final smile (and, in Lavender's case, a look of loathing) we left the restaurant.

"So, what's going on?" Ron asked Harry as we both quickened our pace to keep up with him. "Is it Snape-related?"

"Kind of," he replied, glancing around nervously. "In here."

"Eh?"

We were stood outside what looked like an abandoned broom shed.

Well, an old broom shed anyway – I'm not sure if they can be abandoned, seeing as how they're just sheds. For brooms.

Getting over the maybe-abandoned-state of the shed, the fact that Harry wanted us to go in it was confusing me a little.

"Your office not clean enough for you?" I asked him, eyebrows raised.

"Or inside enough?" added Ron, looking at Harry as though he thought he had gone mad. "A broom shed?"

"Just go inside!" Harry replied exasperatedly.

"Ok, but if this thing collapses, I'm gonna sue you!"

Harry just rolled his eyes.

Gingerly pushing open the door, Ron went in, cursing slightly as he smacked his head on the mouldy door frame.

Following suit, I carefully ducked under a piece of wood that had partially fallen over the entrance.

"Nice," I said sarcastically, surveying our surroundings. "Wish our place looked like this, Ron."

"Would've saved us a lot of money when it came to decorating," he laughed, grinning at me."

Ok, why did my heart just start beating faster?

I am not a free woman!

My gay-not-boyfriend might get jealous!

Pushing thoughts of Ron, and how cute he looked when he smiled, out of my mind, I waited impatiently for Harry to explain what on earth was going on.

"Close your eyes and count to seven," he instructed us.

"You couldn't just have made it three?"

"Shut up and get on with it!"

"Alright!"

1…2…3…4…5…6…7

"Harry, Ron, Hermione! Wha' yer all doin' 'ere?!"

I opened my eyes.

"Hagrid!"


	19. Giants, Signatures and Surprises

_Life_

_Is nearly always_

_An uphill struggle_

"Hagrid!" I cried again, still in a state of shock. "How did you get here?"

"Don' yeh mean how did _yeh_ get_ 'ere_?" he chortled, casting an arm around at our surroundings.

Blinking slightly, I looked round Hagrid, and was stunned to see that we were no longer in the broom-shed – in fact, we weren't even in London anymore!

"What the on earth are we doing in the Three Broomstick's function room?!" I gasped.

"Bloody hell!" said Ron, staring at Harry wide-eyed. "Since when has counting to seven transported you half way across the country?!"

"Since I put an abso-apparition spell on that broom-shed," he replied, with a half smile, half frown.

"You can do an abso-apparition spell?!" I gaped at him. "Even _I_ can't do one of those! Who taught you how to do it?!"

"The inventor."

"I didn't know you were on speaking terms with Wilkie Twycross! Oh my god, why didn't you _tell_ me?! I've been trying to arrange a meeting with him for _ages_! I really wanted to ask him the physics of the spell, and how one can obtain permisson to use it, because, ultimately, it-"

"OKKKK!" said Ron loudly. "As thrilling as this conversation _undoubtedly_ is, I'd much rather know _why_ Harry used the spell."

Fair point.

Tutting loudly, I said to Harry, "Answer Won-Won's question."

"Ha ha," said Ron sarcastically. "You're just hilarious, Hermione."

I smiled sweetly at him, "I know."

"Oh, you two still fightin', are yeh?" laughed Hagrid, shaking his head. "Looks like some things never change."

I saw Harry smile slightly.

"Shut up, Harry."

Harry feigned innocence.

"What?!"

"You know what," I growled back.

He grinned.

"Alright, alright. So, yeah, I used the spell because it's the only way a large group of people can apparate into Hogsmeade now."

"Because of the war?"

"Precisely. The Ministry is very keen to control all the goings on in Hogsmeade, due to the rather large, and very powerful, castle, situated just over there."

He waved his hand in the general direction of Hogwarts.

"Large groups of people could spell potential trouble – I only got permission to come here because the ministry knows and trusts us."

"Yeah, but three people are hardly gonna be a big problem, are they?" frowned Ron.

"Um, can you say '_Voldemort_'?" I said to him

Ron glowered at me.

"Hermione's right, Ron – one person can make all the difference. Anyway," Harry continued, as Ron muttered under his breath, "We really need to get to Hogwarts due to the case we're working on, but you need to acquire a lot of documents before you can even _think_ about getting in there. Which is where you come in, Hagrid."

"Meh?" said Hagrid, looking bewildered. "Wha' 'ave I got ter do with any o' this?"

"You're gamekeeper, are you not?" asked Harry.

"Well, yeh, bu'-"

"In which case, I need permission to set foot on your land."

Hagrid's eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh, o'course I'll give yer permission – you 'ave just as much right as I do ter be on it!"

"Thanks, Hagrid," smiled Harry, passing him one of the pieces of paper he'd been clutching.

As Hagrid wiped his eyes and signed the document, I turned to Harry, and said, "Brilliant. Does that mean we can get into Hogwarts now?"

"Erm, not quite. It needs another signature."

"What?! From who?!"

"Kingsley."

I rolled my eyes.

"Couldn't you have done that _before _you dragged us all the way to Scotland?!" I exclaimed exasperatedly.

"No," replied Harry, calmly, "I couldn't have. Hagrid had to sign before Kingsley - that's just the way it is."

"Eurgh," I said, rolling my eyes again. "Fine. So, what do we do now?"

"Well… I'll go back to London, and get this thing signed; Ron can go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and get some supplies; and you can go home and pack your stuff – you're a girl, you'll take longer."

"Hmm," I said, narrowing my eyes, "We'll see."

"Alrigh', I'm done," said Hagrid, passing Harry the paper. "You lo' comin' back, are yeh?"

"Sure will be," replied Harry, "Just as soon as we get the other signature. Expect us around eight?"

"Ok," said Hagrid, patting Harry on the back.

"Oops, what yeh doin' down there, 'Arry?"

As Hagrid pulled Harry back to his feet, I said to Ron, "Did you hear what Harry said, Ron?"

"'Course I did," replied Ron, annoyed. "I'm not deaf, you know, Hermione."

"I didn't say that you-"

"Come on, children," called Harry, over our bickering. "Time to count to seven; one, two…"

I closed my eyes, and this time, I felt a distinct rush as we moved from Scotland to London.

Opening them again, I said to Harry and Ron, "Right, well, I'll see you chaps later, then."

With a wave, I ducked out of the broom-shed and apparated home.

Putting my key in the lock, I found that the door was already open.

Cursing Ron for his complete incapability to lock doors, I set my bag on the floor and walked into the kitchen.

Waiting for me were a bunch of red roses.

Picking them up, I found a note nestled between the thorns.

Opening it up, I read:

_Dearest, darling, Hermione,_

_**Love **__of my life, __**wind **__beneath my wings!_

…

_Ok, so I'm just messing with you!_

_How are you, pumpkin face? Have a good trip with lover-boy?_

Oh, Richard, you little weasel!

_Such a shame you had to dash – had __**most **__fun with Lavender… not!_

_Is that girl incapable of shutting her trap?! I'm serious! All she did was natter, natter, natter, until that kind waiter took pity on me and showed me to the wine cellar (nothing happened, don't worry!)_

_Whence I returned, alas, she was gone._

_I nearly cried._

_With relief, of course._

_That Ron Weasley has __**most**__ strange tastes in women… except when it comes to you, of course!_

_Did you see him when I was being all chivalrous to you – I nearly wet myself when he caused Lavender to fall over!_

_Anywho, just thought I'd add to the lie, and send you these flowers._

_If anyone but you reads this card, all they'll see is __**Love you lots, Richard x**_

_That should make old Ronnie-poo jealous!_

_Ciao!_

Shaking my head, I grabbed a vase from by the sink, and stuck the roses in it.

_Without_ water.

Richard was being rather risqué in regards to his quest to get me and Ron together, and I wasn't sure if I liked it!

Washing my hands, and grabbing a diet coke from the fridge, I walked into the living room, and nearly died of shock!

"What the hell are _you_ doing in here?!"


	20. Flowers, Tears and Confessions

_It will always_

_Take more than words_

_To get the future_

_You've always wanted_

Lavender Brown feigned hurt, as she sat herself up higher on the sofa.

"Why, Hermione," she said in a choked voice, "Is that really any way to treat a guest?"

"_Guest?_" I spat, hate pouring out of me. "You're no guest! Now, I'll ask you again – what the hell are you doing in my house?!"

"Uh," said Lavender, getting up, "I do believe that should be 'our' house – after all, you do co-own it with Ron, don't you?"

"Get out," I said in a dangerously low voice, my hands shaking.

"But don't you want to know why I'm here?" she asked sweetly.

"I don't care. Leave. _Now_."

Lavender ignored me, and walked over to the fireplace.

I watched her, breathing hard as I did so, fighting to keep control.

Lavender reached out and picked up one of the photographs sat on top of it.

"Oh, don't you three look sweet," she said, gazing down fondly at it. "I must say, Ron has grown up the most out of you lot; giving me a key to this house, working long-"

"_Ron_ gave you a key?!"

"Well, yeah," said Lavender, pretending to be surprised, as she put the photograph down. "It's not like I broke in! Goodness, no. But I must say, it's a nice pad you've got together – I'd love for Ron and I to live somewhere like this someday!"

"Oh, don't you even _think_ about making your presence here a permanent occurrence, Lavender Brown! Now, you may have gotten the guy, but you are _not_ going to flaunt him in front of me! Do you understand me?!"

"Hermione! Why so angry?! Look, as a friend, I-"

"_Friend?! _Lavender, you are _not_ a friend – you've _never_ been a friend! Even in first year, I found you the most annoying, _vain_, little girl I had ever met. As the years went by, I also realised that you were arrogant, selfish, and a cow!"

"A cow?! Why on earth…?"

"Oh, god, don't pretend, Lavender! We both know that you could never get over Ron and mine's closeness at Hogwarts! So you did all you could to show me that he was _'yours'_, ok, and now he is, yet you _still_ can't help but rub it in just a little bit more! _What_ are you trying to _achieve?! _You have him! You got what you wanted! Now just leave me alone!"

Lavender looked shocked. And, this time, I don't think she was faking it.

"Jeez, Hermione! Talk about unrequited love! And you're right, I have got the guy. But I know that there is some manipulative part of you that would do anything to sabotage our relationship, and no way am I gonna let that happen. You may be smarter than me, Hermione, but I can _always_ get the guy that I want, and _that_, my _friend_, is where you lose."

"Now, I think I'll be off. I expect I'll be seeing Ron this evening, and, well, who knows what might happen."

"Catch you later, _Hermy_."

And with that, she sauntered past me, carefully patting the key she had in her pocket as she did so.

As soon as the door slammed, I screamed, causing more than a few ornaments to explode.

Sometimes, being a witch isn't that good of a thing.

After all, how many people do _you_ know who can make things explode, without touching them, when they're angry?

Around twenty minutes later, there was a knocking on the door.

Sighing, I dragged myself out of the chair I'd slumped in and went to answer it.

Blinking as the bright sunlight stung my swollen eyes, it took me a second to realise that it was Ginny stood in front of me.

As soon as I did, I thought, "Oh, crap."

"Merlin's pyjamas, Hermione! What happened to your _face?!_ You look a right mess!"

"Thanks, Ginny," I muttered sarcastically, turning round and heading back into the living room.

As I dejectedly sat back down, Ginny said, "I'm serious, Hermione! You look like you've been crying for about a month! What on earth's happened?!"

"Lavender Brown, that's what," I said bitterly, sniffing sorrowfully.

Ginny sighed and sat down.

"Oh, Hermione, I knew this was going to happen."

I looked at her sharply.

"What do you mean?"

Ginny looked at me almost pityingly.

"Hermione, you've been in love with Ron since forever, and he's messed you around one hell of a lot, but you've always taken him back, no matter what. But this time… time can't always heal every wound, and the one he's creating with Lavender is pretty deep – deeper than any one he's created before. Now, I know you'll deny being in love with him, and you'll say that you don't care what he's up to with Lavender, but-"

"I do care," I whispered softly.

Ginny looked absolutely stunned.

"What did you say?"

"I do care," I repeated, tears spilling down my face. "I care so much that I don't know if I can be around him anymore. Not if he's with… _her_. I've put up with so _much_ and yet it's _still_ not enough for him to notice me, to see what he's _doing_ to me! A-and now… n-now I just don't know if I can do it anymore. I-I don't know if I can smile and pretend and-"

I gulped.

"-A-and be his friend. Sometimes it gets to a point where it's just too much. We… _I_ have crossed the line between loving him and _being_ in love with him. And I think that it might be time to go. To leave here and move on, once and for all."

"Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to live anymore."


	21. Firmness, Disbelief and Amazement

_There comes a time_

_When life_

_And love_

_Really get you down_

"Now you listen here, Hermione Granger," Ginny said firmly, leaning towards me and prising my hands away from my face and revealing rather tear-stained and puffy eyes, "You are _not_ running away from this, ok, this is _Ron's _mess, not yours. Now, I know it's hard, but you can't give that vile cow the satisfaction of seeing you leave behind all your friends and family, the people that you love and the people that love you, all because of her. She is bitter, and selfish, and not who Ron really wants. He's just too stupid to see the great person he's got right in front of him."

"Ron doesn't love me," I spat, glaring at a picture hanging on the wall of us laughing together. Looking away as my heart squeezed so hard I thought it was going to burst, I continued, "He hates me. Why would he do this to me otherwise?"

"Because he's a git and because he's afraid."

"Afraid of _what?!_ That I might not enjoy his company anymore if he doesn't reduce me to tears nearly every time we're together?!"

"No. He's afraid that you'll reject him."

"What?! Reject _him?!_ Shouldn't _I_ be the one afraid of that? I mean, it's not like he hasn't done it before! Why would-"

"Pardon?!"

Crap!

"Oh, what, no, I didn't mean-"

"You've made a move on Ron?! When?!"

Oh, crap, oh crap, oh crap!

Noooooooooooo!!!

"No! No, I didn't, it wasn't-I mean, we-it-"

"Hermione, shut up and tell me the truth! Has something happened between the two of you?!"

"No…"

"Hermione!"

"Ok!! Ok, I'll tell you!"

And so I told her about mine and Ron's tiny little liaison after the war had ended, and what I witnessed at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

"… And so there you have it. Ronald Weasley rejected me. Are you happy now?"

Ginny looked absolutely gobsmacked.

"He didn't…" she whispered disbelievingly, her eyes wide. "He-he _wouldn't!_ Not to _you!_ Not to anyone!"

"Well, he did. I pretty much managed to piece my heart back together, but I have a feeling that he may have taken some too, so my heart is a bit on the broken side, to say the least."

"That two-timing little git! Ooh, when I get my hands on him, he's going to wish he was never born!"

"No, Ginny, don't!" I said, panicking. "Please, please, don't! You're the first person I've ever told about this, and if he knew that you knew… Ginny, I'm begging you. If it got out… what happened… I could never live it down. Ginny, please!"

Ginny gave me a hard look, but then nodded her head.

"Ok, I promise I won't say anything-"

"Or _do_ anything!" I cut in.

Ginny swallowed.

"Or… _do_ anything… _too _bad."

"Ginny! No, you can't!"

"Look, I'm sorry, Hermione, but he deserves some punishment for what's he's done to you! I won't make it obvious, and he'll never know about what you've told me, but he doesn't deserve to get off scot-free."

Sighing, but knowing that this was probably going to be the best I'd get from her, I nodded.

"Alright, fine. I should go and get ready," I sighed, getting up and heading for the door.

"Ok," nodded Ginny, "I'll wait here."

Just as I reached the door, I turned around and said to Ginny, "I… I love him _so_ much, Gin. And he'll never know."

Ginny smiled sadly at me, and I continued out of the door, wiping away the fresh tears that were sliding down my cheeks.

I wandered back downstairs, rucksack in hand, around fifteen minutes later, and was met with the sight of Ginny's confused face.

"I know you said you were going to get ready," she said, her brow furrowed, "But I didn't realise you meant ready to _leave!_ Where on earth do you think you're going?!"

I stared at her, slightly taken aback.

"Well, Harry, Ron and I are following a lead about the Draco Malfoy case…" I began, but got no further, because Ginny screamed, "_What?!_"

"Er…" I stammered, realising I'd made a major faux pas. "Harry didn't tell you?"

"Harry didn't tell you what?" said a voice from in the hallway.

Ginny span around and rushed out to meet her soon-to-be-dead husband.

Following her out, my ears were assaulted by her hysterical yell of, "You're going away?! When? Why? How?!"

"Erm, 'how'…?" asked Harry uncertainly, backing away from his wife.

"Yes, '_how_'," growled Ginny, advancing on him. "_How_ did I not know about this?!"

"Look, Gin, it was just a last minute thing! Even Ron and Hermione didn't know about it until about an hour ago!"

"Well that was a damn-sight earlier than me! We're supposed to be visiting your brother tomorrow!"

"I know, Gin," said Harry, looking nervous, but determined. "But this is _really_ important!"

"And your family isn't?" cried Ginny, looking close to tears.

"Ginny, listen to me," said Harry, as calmly as he could. "This mission shouldn't take any longer than a couple of days, and if it does, I _promise you_, I will take an entire week off work and spend it doing _whatever_ you want."

Ginny looked like she wanted to say more, but was distracted by the door opening, smacking Harry in the back.

"What the…?" said Ron's voice, as he tried to get through the door.

"Ow!" said Harry, moving out of the way, and glaring at Ron in a 'you've-just-saved-my-life' kind of way.

"Woops, sorry mate," said Ron, shutting the door behind him.

Catching sight of Ginny's monstrous expression, and Harry's anxious demeanour, he cleared his throat, and said gruffly, "Er, I'll be upstairs…"

"Me too!" I squeaked, cursing myself instantly for having said such a stupid thing.

Now I had to spend time with Ron!

Alone!

Harry, Ron and Ginny all looked at me in some surprise.

Bowing my head, I rushed past them and up the stairs, and quickly ran into my room, where I hastily slammed the door shut, and slid down it as I got my breath back.

Oh, God-y-god-god-god.

_Days_ away with just Harry and Ron for company?!

Oh, I am destined to lose all of my hair.

Don't get me wrong – I love my friends more than anything in the world (excluding my parents), but, well…

Harry will be on a huge power-trip, because it's been years since we've had a good mystery to solve.

And Ron will be… well… being _Ron_, I suppose.

And I would much rather cope with the former, rather than the latter, thank you very much!

A creak on the landing and a knock at the door caused me to emit a little squeak and jump up.

Staring apprehensively at the door, I prayed that it wouldn't be-

"It's Ron! Open up!"

Damn it.

Sighing slightly, I walked over to the door and opened it.

"It wasn't locked," I said disdainfully, as I headed over to my bed and furtively straightened the covers on it.

"Yeah, I know," replied Ron, loftily, "I just didn't want to injure anyone else today, that's all."

"In all fairness, I think Harry was relieved that you did," I couldn't help but smile, as I turned round to face him. "Harry is such a dead man."

"Oh, I know," grinned Ron, walking towards where I was standing. "Sod Voldemort; Ginny's the real danger!"

I laughed.

"So, so true. Maybe the bat-bogey hex will make a come-back!"

Ron laughed too, and I felt my heart flutter.

Oh, why is everything so _complicated?!_

As Ron drew closer to me, I couldn't help but notice all the cute little freckles on his face, and how alive his eyes were when he smiled.

Ron was now towering over me, and I could feel my palms getting sweaty.

He wasn't going to _kiss_ me, was he?!

"Hermione… I-I'm sorry… for everything…" he said softly, his face inches away from mine.

As my heart began to beat as loudly as twenty bass drums, I couldn't help but think that maybe everything was going to work out after all.

As his lips inched ever closer to mine, I found some invisible force pulling me closer to him, and my arms wrapped themselves around his neck of their own accord, just as his lips met mine…


	22. Sparks, Indifference and Adventure

_One mystery down_

_So many more_

_To go_

"Holy _crap_, what is that?!"

Ron and I tried to spring apart so fast that we ended up crashing into each other, and in that instant, our hands touched.

A huge burning sensation ran up my arm, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor, flat on my back, panting as though all the wind had been knocked out of me.

"What the bloody hell just happened?!"

I looked round to see Ron and Harry on the floor too.

Feeling incredibly confused, I struggled back to my feet, and examined by my arm.

Discovering a rather red wrist, I frowned.

Ron, who had imitated my actions, said, "Hermione, are you radi-ative or something?"

"It's 'radioactive', and no, I'm not. I don't know what happened."

Harry, who was rubbing his own wrist, said angrily, "What were you two _doing?!_"

"Nothing!" we both squeaked, far too quickly.

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Er, what we_ mean_," I stammered hurriedly, trying to back-track, "Is that we don't know how it happened. All Ron did was, uh, brush my hand as he moved past me. Not something that would usually cause such a power surge. I mean, it's never happened before, so-"

"Yes, it has!" exclaimed Harry, looking both excited and apprehensive. "It happened that time we were up in the loft together, Hermione!"

"When were you two alone in the loft together?" said Ron.

I ignored him.

"Oh my god; yes, I remember! You grabbed my wrist, or something!"

"Yeah, and we both got this searing pain up our arm. At the time, I just thought it was static, but now… well, what if it's something more?!"

"Nah," said Ron, shaking his head, "It's probably just one of George's jokes, or something. Before I came here, he got me to touch this thing that made all of my hair stand on end – it probably came from that!"

"Yeah, but that only explains why you and Hermione got it – we didn't come in contact with any Weasley products when it-"

"Actually," I interrupted him, suddenly remembering something, "We did. In fact, we were standing in it – the Dust-Buster, remember?"

Harry looked crestfallen.

"Oh, yeah…"

"Look," I said, seeing that he was likely to make a huge deal out of something that probably wasn't even something to be worried about anyway, "If it happens again, then we'll definitely look into it, but we should really focus on getting this mission done. Is Ginny ok?"

"Uh, yeah," said Harry, looking awkward. "I made a few promises, and parted with a few galleons; that seems to have appeased her for the time being. But, yeah, you're right, we should focus on Malfoy. Have you packed yet?"

"Sure have."

"Good. And you, Ron?"

"Erm, no, not yet. I'll be two minutes," he said.

After glancing quickly at me and turning red, he hurried off to his own room.

As I went to pass Harry, and go back downstairs, he caught my arm and looked at me searchingly.

"Has something happened, Hermione?"

Trying to keep my face as emotionless as possible, I replied, "No. Nothing at all. We were just talking about the mission. Do you think it'll take long to complete?"

"I hope not," muttered Harry, looking worried. "If it does, Ginny's going to have my head."

Smiling sympathetically, I moved around him and headed back down the stairs, trying hard not to think about the fact that Ron had just kissed me!

As I reached the bottom, I found a harassed looking Ginny, who upon seeing me raised her hands in the air, as if to say, 'what the hell?!'

"I'll do all that I can to get us back as soon as possible," I assured her, as I gave her a hug.

"Thanks," sighed Ginny in a muffled voice. "By the way," she added, as she pulled away from me, "Those are nice flowers in the kitchen. Who's Richard?"

Ooh, busted!

"Er, just a friend from work," I stammered, quickly bending down and picking up my bag.

"A friend, huh?" smirked Ginny, as I straightened up. "I've never had a friend who sent _me_ five galleons-worth of flowers…"

"Five galleons-worth?!" I repeated, astounded. "Bloody hell, he's really into this pretend-dating business!"

"Pretend?!"

Oh, buggery!

I really should learn when to keep my mouth shut.

"Eurgh," I said, rolling my eyes, "Alright. Richard's my _gay_ friend from work, who's trying to make Ron jealous, so that he'll finally realise that it's me he loves and not Lavender."

Ginny didn't look particularly surprised.

"Why don't you look shocked?" I asked her suspiciously.

"Because, as hard as I tried, I really couldn't imagine you dating anyone but Ron, so this explanation, although not quite what I was expecting, does pretty much make sense. I mean, remember when you started dating Callum just after you got back from Bulgaria – it was _so_ obvious that you weren't really into him at all."

"In all fairness," I pointed out, turning red, "He _did_ have a wife and three kids, whom he neglected to mention to me when he asked me out on a date!"

"Fair point," conceded Ginny. "All I'm trying to say is that to anyone who's got eyes it's pretty obvious that you are in love with Ron."

"Doesn't make a difference who I'm in love with, Ginny," I sighed, walking past her and heading into the kitchen, "Ron isn't going to notice… or care for that matter."

"Well, if that's true, then, why, when he saw the flowers, did he say, 'Why does Hermione like that bloody moron? He looks like a poof!'?"

"Because he never likes anyone I get involved with?"

"Because he's jealous! Oh, god! I wish you two would just _tell_ each other how you feel! It would save _so_ much hassle!"

"Never going to happen, Gin."

"I hate you."

"Love you too, sweetie."

A clanging noise behind us alerted us to Ron's presence.

"Ron, be careful!" I scolded him. "That vase was a present from my mum and dad!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Ron, trying to look defiant. "And who were the flowers from?"

I resisted the urge to look at Ginny.

"Richard, of course. It says so in the card."

"I'm gonna leave you two to it," said Ginny, her eyes shining mischievously. "I'll see you in a minute."

Glaring at her retreating back, I flicked my gaze back to Ron, and said, knowing full-well what the answer was, "Have you not read the card in the flowers, then? Because I'd be very surprised if you haven't. In a good way, of course."

Ron turned instantly red.

"W-uh, I-uh," he spluttered, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Well, yeah, I did. I thought they might've been from Lavender, see?"

"Oh, right," I nodded, my fists clenching at the sound of Lavender's name. "It's funny you should mention her actually; when I got back here earlier, I found her sat in our living room, happily flicking through a magazine…"

Ron turned even redder.

"It's not what-"

"If I'm honest, Ron, I don't really care what your excuse is. She didn't break in, and you can't apparate in here, because of safety concerns, so the only way she _could_ have gotten in is by using a door-key, which, as she gleefully informed me, you gave to her. Now, I don't know about you, but, in my opinion, giving out a house-key without asking my permission first is really rather rude. In the future, ask me before you give your latest conquest an access all areas pass. Otherwise, you may find that this house is minus one occupant – and I don't mean me."

And with that, I waltzed pass him, ignoring his spluttered protests.

"All set," I asked brightly, grabbing my coat off of the banister and shrugging it on.

My little outburst had made me feel surprisingly better.

"Sure are," said Harry, giving Ginny a kiss on the cheek. "Ron!" he yelled. "Get a move on!"

Ron traipsed out of the kitchen looking quite put-out, and couldn't seem to bring himself to look me in the eye.

Well, it's not fair if he always holds all of the cards, is it?

"Ready?" said Harry to him.

"Sure," muttered Ron, swinging his bag onto his shoulder.

"Excellent."

Opening the door, I lead the way out onto the would-be driveway.

As the door shut behind Harry, I closed my eyes and apparated to Diagon Alley.

Ducking into the broom-shed, I waited patiently for Harry and Ron to arrive.

As soon as they had done, we simultaneously counted to seven.

"Miss Granger, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley – Hagrid is waiting for you outside."

Opening my eyes, I couldn't help but think: 'Let the adventure begin!'


	23. Hagrid, Indiscretions and Hogwarts

_The beginning_

_Of so many blasts_

_From the past_

It was approaching five o' clock by the time we reached the gates that lead up to Hogwarts.

"Righ'," said Hagrid, fumbling around in his pockets as he spoke, "I'm gonna have ter ask yeh three ter cover yer ears whilst I say the incantation that makes the gates open, otherwise security is breached and then I can't get in ter Hogwarts either… Or so I've been told by the Ministry."

"Don't worry, Hagrid, we'll cover our ears," laughed Harry, placing his gloved hands over his ears.

As Ron and I followed suit, Hagrid finally managed to find what he'd been looking for: his wand.

Yep, that's right – Rubeus Hagrid is now, officially, allowed to use magic!

Trying hard not to grin, I said to him, "Nice wand, Hagrid."

Winking at me, he cleared his throat and cried…

Well.

I don't know what it was, because I couldn't hear anything.

But whatever he said had an almost instant effect.

The huge chain that was snaked around the iron gates broke apart and hung limply to the side as the gates swung open and let us enter.

Walking through them, I felt a slight shiver run through me.

This was going to be the first time I'd set foot in Hogwarts in five years.

And I knew the welcome I was going to receive would be disappointing.

As we walked up the driveway, I could feel the atmosphere around me getting tenser. Hogwarts held some very bad memories, especially for Harry and Ron.

To try and make myself feel better, I began chatting to Hagrid.

"So, how're you and Madame Maxime going?"

"Ah, I dunno abou' tha', Hermione," said Hagrid, blushing.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron, craning his neck to look up at him.

"Well, I dunno, Ron. She's a lovely women, beau'iful… bu' I don' see her often, and when I do, she has ter hurry off somewhere almost as soon as she's arrived! I think we're be'er as jus' friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hagrid," I said, laying a comforting hand on his arm. "But maybe it's for the best."

"Yeh," said Hagrid, sniffing slightly, "Yeh, yer probably righ', Hermione. So, how's about you lot, eh? You an' Ginny still going strong, Harry?"

"Yeah," replied Harry, smiling. "Sirius'll be one soon."

"Will 'e?! Blimey, time does fly, dun' it! And wha' 'bout you two?" he said, looking down at me and Ron. "You two go' anyone ye'?"

Ron and I both flushed bright red.

"Oh, like tha' is it?" smiled Hagrid, clapping us both on the back. "I mus' say, it's taken you two a bloody long time ter get round to it!"

Hang on a minute…

"Get round to what?" I asked, frowning.

"Getting tergether, o'course!"

There was a crash as Ron tripped over his own feet and landed flat on his face.

As Harry helped him up, I said hurriedly to Hagrid, "Oh, no, no! We didn't mean that! No! Ron and I are seeing _other_ people! Like we would ever date!" I added, with a _highly_ attractive snort.

"Ah, alrigh' then," said Hagrid, with a knowing smile. "Who you datin' then, Hermione?"

"Some prat named Richard," muttered Ron.

I glared at him.

"He's lovely actually."

"Ah, I don' know many Richards," said Hagrid, looking thoughtful. "The only one I know is gay…"

"Definitely not the one I'm dating then!" I squeaked. "My Richard's as straight as they come!"

"Yeah, right," snorted Ron.

"And Lavender is just the best thing ever!" I growled at him.

"Lavender?" said Hagrid, before Ron could retaliate. "Lavender Brown?"

"The very same," I snarled.

"I thought she were datin' tha' Seamus Finnigan?"

What?!

I looked at Ron, who was looking completely dumb-struck.

"When did you hear that?" asked Harry, looking uneasy as he glanced at Ron.

"Saw 'em out the other week in Diagon Alley. Looked pretty friendly ter me."

Was it possible?

Was Lavender _really_ cheating on Ron?!

Dear God, I hoped so!

"You're probably mistaken, Hagrid," I said, trying, for some unexplainable reason, to defend Lavender's actions. "I expect they're just good friends."

Hagrid, who had caught sight of Ron's mutinous expression, cleared his throat, and said quickly, "Yeah, I'm sure you're righ', Hermione. Sorry, Ron, didn' mean ter be so thoughtless."

Ron didn't reply.

"Um, maybe we be'er talk 'bout somethin' less… well, somethin' more excitin'. You heard the Ministry's thinkin' o' relaxin' the laws on dragon-keepin'?"

But none of us were listening.

The entrance to Hogwarts had just loomed into sight, the door still not mended from the battering it took from the war so many years ago.

"Looks bad, dun' it?" said Hagrid, sighing. "No one's bothered ter clear it all up. 'Spose we just 'ave ter regard it as a monumen' to Voldemort's defeat."

"It's a disgrace," said Ron, angrily. "My brother died here, and they can't even be bothered to restore it! Hogwarts should be a place where people live, not a sign of where so many died!"

"You're righ', Ron," said Hagrid, nodding his head. "The Ministry needs ter get its act tergether!"

"It will, eventually," said Harry heavily, "But it's still focused on capturing the rest of Voldemort's old followers. I know Kingsley really wanted to restore Hogwarts, but he was outvoted by the rest of his office – they believed it was more beneficial to make sure there were no more Death Eaters on the streets than to re-establish one of the best schools in Europe(!)"

"It's ridiculous," I said, shaking my head. "British witches and wizards are getting a second-rate education, just because some toffs at the Ministry of Magic voted it the best thing for society! I mean, do they even _live_ in the real world?!

"I hear you, Hermione," said Harry, "But there's nothing anyone can do without the say-so of the Ministry. That's just the way it is."

"It's a load of bull, that's what it is," said Ron furiously. "Oh, I'd love it if I could go down there, and beat the sh-"

"Ok!" I said loudly, worrying that Ron might lose sight of why we were at Hogwarts in the first place. "I know you're angry, Ron, and I completely understand, but let's not get bogged down in ifs and maybes – let's make a difference where we know we definitely can."

"Exactly," said Harry, nodding solemnly. "We need to get this mission done and dusted before we can take on the rest of the Ministry."

"Alright," muttered Ron, though he still looked angry. "But once we're done, the Ministry's gonna get it."

Oh, Ron looks so cute when he's angry.

I mean, Ron looks so _angry_ when he's angry, not _cute!_

It must be the fresh air; it's gone to my head.

Ahem.

We had finally reached the steps up to the entrance of Hogwarts, and we all stared apprehensively at them.

"You lo' alrigh'?" asked Hagrid, looking uneasily at us and then at the castle. "You worried wha' you migh' find?"

We all shrugged.

To be completely honest, I don't think we knew _what_ it was that we were afraid of; we all just knew that we were.

"Well, the Ministry says you can jus' go straigh' in, but I hope you don' mind if I don' come with yeh."

We all shook our heads.

"No, we wouldn't expect you to, Hagrid," said Harry, a sad smile on his lips. "But thank you so much for taking us here; we really appreciate it."

"Ah, tha's alrigh'," said Hagrid, his lip wobbling slightly as he gave us all a hug. "You three look after yerselves, yeh hear?!"

"'Course we will," said Ron, his old familiar grin back on his face. "We never get into to trouble, us!"

Hagrid grinned too.

"Wha'ever yeh say, Ron."

"If yeh need anything, jus' yell."

"We will do," nodded Harry, pulling out the old Marauders' map. "See you soon, hopefully."

With a nod and a wave, Hagrid turned around and headed back to his cabin, leaving the three of us to stare nervously up at the castle.

"You ready?" asked Harry, looking determined.

"Ready," said Ron and I together.

And with that, we climbed up the steps and pushed open the heavy oak doors.


	24. Debris, Walls and Offices

_Dark eyes sparkling_

_Cold heart beating_

_Love never ending_

Hogwarts is really not the place it used to be, I thought regretfully, stepping over shards of broken glass, careful not to slice my foot on the jagged edges.

As soon as Harry had pushed open the castle doors, my heart had sunk.

Where were the paintings which used to adorn the castle walls?

What had happened to that warm, welcoming feeling Hogwarts had exuded with such ardour?

And when was that feeling going to return?

Not anytime soon by the looks of things.

Sighing, I looked over at Harry and Ron, who were wearing the same expression I was.

"It's such a mess," said Ron in a hollow voice.

"It's so… empty," added Harry, staring around at the first true home he'd ever known, looking as though he wanted to cry.

To be honest, I felt like that too.

After all Hogwarts had been through and all that it had produced, it still wasn't deemed worthy enough to restore.

It's sickening really.

However, we had more pressing problems than Hogwart's current condition.

Although we'd all agreed that Snape was probably talking about Hogwarts in his little riddle-thing, he hadn't exactly specified what we were supposed to be looking for when we got there.

"So… any ideas as to what we should be looking for?" I asked Harry now, raising my eyebrows.

"Not a clue," he responded, looking depressed. "Maybe we should head to Dumbledore's study-"

"Snape's," I muttered quietly under my breath.

"-that's the last place Snape would have been, and maybe he'll have left something there that gives us a clue as to where Malfoy is."

I looked at Ron, who, like me, looked unconvinced.

"Harry, Snape might have been a git, but he was a smart one – how likely is it that he's gonna just have left a piece of paper with Malfoy's whereabouts laying around in his office? It was probably searched after the war ended, which means that if there was anything incriminating in there, we would already have it."

I stared at him, and couldn't help but be impressed by how… I don't know… _smart_ he sounded.

I mean, that's the kind of thing _I_ would come out with!

Ron seemed to realise how impressive he'd sounded, because he instantly went red and stared at the floor.

"I mean," he said, clearing his throat embarrassedly, "I expect that would've happened…"

Harry and I exchanged grins.

"What? What?!"

"Oh, nothing," I grinned, stepping round him, and surveying the mess in front of me.

My grin faded.

"I am _so_ going to cut myself."

Half an hour later and we had barely made any progress.

For every step forward, we took another two steps back.

No matter how hard we tried, we just kept encountering blockages at every turn.

After Ron fell painfully on his side after his fifth attempt at trying to climb over a large piece of concrete that had rendered access to the first floor impossible, the future of our mission didn't look particularly rosy.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," shouted Harry, as I went to help Ron up. "This place is falling down and there's absolutely no way we can get up to Dumbledore's office!"

"Snape's," I corrected him, supporting Ron as we made our way back over to him. "It was Snape's office last."

Harry glared at me.

"Snape _murdered_ Dumbledore and took his position – that office was _never_ his."

"Well, Hogwarts obviously thought so – remember when Umbridge tried to take over as Headmistress – she couldn't even get past the stone gargoyles!"

"Just because Snape could, it doesn't mean he had the right to!" spat Harry.

"Oh, who sodding cares about whether or not Snape was rightly the headmaster of Hogwarts – I just want to get out of this bloody corridor!" said Ron angrily, massaging his side. "I feel like someone's hit me with a wrestle-hex – my side's gonna be aching for weeks!"

"Shut up moaning, Ron," I sighed, ducking out from under his arm as he plonked himself down on the floor. "We need to find another way to get upstairs."

"_Obviously,_" snapped Ron, sarcastically.

"Shut up, Ron." I growled at him. "Ok, so we've tried _all_ of the short cuts we know – looks like someone seemed to think it'd be a good idea to seal them all so that no one could ambush them when the battle was going on-"

"Yeah, well, they could've taken them off when the war ended!" said Harry angrily.

"And there's nothing on the Marauders' map that indicates any other way of getting upstairs?" I asked for the tenth time.

"_No_, Hermione! It looks like we're just gonna have to give up!"

"Oh, come on, Harry! You can't just give up! We've worked too hard on this flipping mission to just give up over some stupid pieces of concrete! We'll just have to find another way around this, just like we always do!"

"It's all very well and good you saying that, Hermione," Harry glared at me, "But do you actually have any ideas as to what 'another way around this' could be?"

"W-well," I stammered, realising there was major hole in my brilliant plan. "Well, no. But that doesn't mean we should just stop trying!"

"Hermione, let's just face it – we're screwed!" said Ron, shaking his head and pulling a face.

"Oh, well, you two are just fantastic!" I spat sarcastically, shoving my hands angrily into my pockets.

"Ouch!" I yelped, pulling them straight back out again. "What the…?" I frowned, as I examined the index finger on my right hand, which had a small streak of blood running down it.

Sticking it in my mouth, I gingerly reached round with my left hand and pulled out the offending object from inside my coat pocket.

It was Ron's deluminator.

"Hey! Why've you got my-" Ron began, but I cut him off.

"Ron, be quiet. This… this is…"

I looked over at Harry who was staring at me with understanding.

"Oh, you are a genius, Hermione!" he cried, a grin breaking out across his face as he raced over to examine it. "I would never have thought of bringing it along!"

"Oi!" yelled Ron, staring at the pair of us. "What are you two banging on about? And I'm the one who put it in her coat, not her! I deserve some credit here, people!"

We both ignored him.

"Do you think it'll work?" I asked Harry furtively

"I don't know," he said, turning it over in his hands as he examined it.

"Ron," he said now, looking over at him. "How did you get this thing to work before?"

Ron just glared at him.

Oh, for crying out loud.

"Ron, are you in a strop now?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows.

"No," he huffed, getting to his and crossing his arms defensively.

I rolled my eyes.

"Ron, this really isn't helping the situation."

"Yeah, well, it seems like you handle the 'situation' fine by yourselves!" said Ron angrily, turning away from me.

I looked over at Harry, who grimaced.

Rolling my eyes, I took a deep breath and walked round to stand in front of him.

He just turned and looked the other way.

"Ron, _please_," I whined, deciding that begging was probably going to work better than anger in this situation. "I'm sorry Harry and I excluded you a minute ago, but we really do need you – we won't be able to complete this mission without you…"

I saw him tense at this and knew I'd won him over.

He wouldn't admit it, of course.

"Look, it doesn't matter what you say to me, Hermione," he said, turning back around to face me. "I'm not going to chose to continue this mission just because you've apologised – I'm continuing it because it's my job, and I've put in a bloody lot of effort, too, right?"

"Oh, absolutely," I said, nodding my head in agreement. "Nothing to do with me."

"Right," said Ron again, nodding as well. "Right, well that settles it."

Harry handed him the deluminator, a small smile playing across his lips.

Ron is such a dunce at times!

Cute, yes.

But a dunce all the same!

He rolled the deluminator over in his hands and then flicked it open, his face screwing up like it does when he's concentrating really hard on something.

Like walking, for example…

I was snapped out of my rather harsh thought-pattern when the deluminator suddenly emitted a ball of light, which hovered in front of Ron for a second and then flew inside of him.

"Wow," said Harry, looking slightly stunned, "That's cool."

"Now what?" I asked Ron, who was giving off a faint glow.

"Follow me," he said, readjusting his rucksack and walking straight towards a solid brick wall.

Or, at least, that's what it looked like until he walked straight through it and disappeared from sight.

"Ron!" I yelled in surprise.

I looked round at Harry in alarm.

He didn't look particularly bothered, however.

"Well," he said, eyebrows raised, "I never knew that was there. Let's go."

As he motioned to move forward, I grabbed his arm.

He looked round at me in some surprise.

"What?"

"You can't just walk straight at a wall! How do you know you won't just bounce straight off of it?! I mean, what if Ron only got through because of the deluminator?!"

Harry looked at me like I was nuts.

"Well, we won't know until we try, will we?" he said, frowning. "Hermione, are you ok? You seem kind of… jumpy. Nervous, even."

"No, no, I'm fine…" I said, staring down at my shoes, which, might I add, were looking _very_ attractive, being covered in dust and all. "I'm just a bit worried about what we might find when we get… wherever we're going."

"It'll be fine," Harry assured me, giving me a hug, just as Ron stuck his head out of the wall, and shouted, "Oi! Come on you two! I'm not waiting around in this wall all day! And Harry – don't forget who you're married to!"

Harry rolled his eyes as he made sure the Marauders' Map and the invisibility cloak were still safely stowed away in his pockets.

"Yeah, yeah, alright, Ron, we're coming. Move out of the way so we can get through."

Ron obliged, and a minute later I was stood inside the wall, staring at a set of rickety wooden stairs.

"Off you go then, Ron," I said, giving him a nudge.

He gave me a swift glare and then gingerly stepped onto the first step.

Seemingly deciding there wasn't any danger of him falling through them, he continued, Harry and I just behind him.

Ten minutes later, we reached another brick wall.

Ron confidently walked towards it, but ended up flat on his back, clutching his nose.

"It's solid!" he spluttered, getting back to his feet.

"Funny, that, a wall being solid," I commented dryly, waving my wand and performing a pain killing spell on his nose.

"Thanks," he said, looking slightly surprised at this act.

I'm not always mean to him, you know!

"You're welcome," I smiled, making him blush.

"Ok, you two, if you carry on being nice to each other I might actually have to call a doctor," said Harry, brushing past me.

"Ha ha," Ron and I replied sarcastically.

Harry grinned.

"Ok, so, brick wall – not so good. We can't go back because that way's blocked too, but we need to get to Dumbledore's office – woah!"

Harry went flying as the wall behind him disappeared.

"Ooph!"

I rushed over to help him back up and felt my jaw drop as I saw where we were.

"Harry, Ron – we're in Dumbledore's office!"


	25. Pensieves, Fools and Falling

_For it shall come alive_

_At the sound_

_Of three_

Harry hastily got to his feet, staring around at Dumbledore's office in amazement.

"Oh, I love Hogwarts," he grinned. "Make a wish and watch it come true!"

Ron looked relieved, also.

"Thank God we're here - I've been desperate for the loo ever since we got to Hogwarts!"

I rolled my eyes as I watched him wander off in search of a toilet.

Five minutes later, he was back, looking thoroughly disgruntled.

"I can't find one," he stated, staring at me and Harry like this was a huge deal. "Dumbledore never had his own private toilet!"

"Well, yeah, I guess not," shrugged Harry, looking back over the parchment which had Snape's deciphered words on it, which I'd thoughtfully thought to bring a long. "I mean, that time he mentioned to me about the Room of Requirement he said he'd been looking for a toilet and that the room had been full of chamber pots."

"Why on earth wouldn't he have had his own loo?!" exclaimed Ron, looking bewildered. "That means he would have had to have shared one with people like Filch!"

We all shuddered as this very unpleasant image entered our minds.

"_Moving on_," said Harry hastily, pulling out his Marauders' map and spreading it out on Dumbledore's desk.

Ron and I gathered round the desk to get a better look.

"We are here," he tapped a finger needlessly to a point on the map, where our names labelled three little dots. "And, according to the map, Dumbledore's office consists of three rooms – this one, obviously, his bedroom, I assume, and one other. I reckon we should split up and take one room each. That way, we can quickly and effectively search each of those places for any clues as to Malfoy's whereabouts. Plus, time's ticking on, and I don't want us to be separated when the clock strikes three. All clear?"

Ron and I nodded obediently.

"Ok. So, I'll take the mystery room, Ron, you take the bedroom, and Hermione, you can search in here. Happy?"

We nodded again, and Harry and Ron went to their assigned rooms.

And I was left all by myself.

Great.

I pulled out my wand and muttered _'lumos'_.

Of course, I had no idea what I was looking for, but decided that I should start from one end of the room and make my way across.

Crossing over to the far side of the office, I stood in front of the wall and looked for any signs on it that there was perhaps something behind it.

Yes, I have watched too many detective shows.

And you know what?

It's a good job I did, too, considering what I found.

There was a thin, almost invisible, crack, running the length of the wall, which disappeared behind a huge, now empty, book case.

Wandering over to the case, I positioned my wand so the beam of light it was emitting shone into the area between the case and the wall.

Unfortunately, because the space was so small and I can't take my eyes out, I couldn't see properly.

Realising I was going to have to move the case out of the way, I stood back and, imitating the action I'd taught Ron so many years ago, cried, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The book-case flew away from the wall, revealing, off all things, Dumbledore's pensieve!

Gaping at in surprise, I waved my wand to remove it from the wall, but nothing happened.

I tried again.

Still nothing.

Frowning, I pocketed my wand and tried instead to drag it.

This time, at least, it moved slightly, but I realised I was going to need some help.

"Harry! Ron! I need your help!" I yelled over my shoulder.

Harry arrived quickest, wand drawn, a look of fear on his face.

It disappeared in an instant when he saw that a. I was ok and b. what I was attempting to move.

"What the…?" he began, staring at the pensieve in shock. "What the hell's _that_ doing here?!"

Letting go of it, I stood back to where Harry was, frowning.

"I guess the Ministry missed it-" I began, but Harry shook his head.

"No, no they didn't. They extracted it along with all of Dumbledore's other stuff. I saw it, they put it into a vault at Gringott's; I've got the key!"

I stared at him.

"You've got the key to all of Dumbledore's possessions?! How come Ron and I didn't know about this!"

Harry looked at me almost pityingly.

"Hermione, I'm Head Auror – some things have got to remain a secret."

Seeing the annoyed look on my face, he said, "Oh, come on, Hermione! You know I'm a different rank than you and Ron. And, look, really, the issue here is not that I know more than you, it's the fact that the pensieve I thought was securely locked up in Gringott's is here, inside a wall!"

Feeling a humungous sense of déjà vu, I said to him, "Maybe it's a fake?"

"Or maybe," said Harry slowly, "It's the real thing and what I've got is the fake. Wow, you really would've thought people would've learned. The question is, why did, I assume, Snape, make a copy? What's so important about this?"

Shaking my head, I replied, "I don't know. But I think we should get it out of the wall and take a closer look."

Harry nodded.

"Ok. You want me to do the honours?"

I shook my head again.

"Magic doesn't work; I already tried."

"You sure?" he asked me, with a frown.

"Well, you can try it for yourself, if you want."

Of course, Harry being Harry, he did so.

It didn't move.

"Weird," he conceded, looking at it oddly. "But you say you can move it when you do it physically?"

I nodded.

He shrugged.

"Maybe it's got some anti-spell thing on it. Shall we try and move it together?"

"Sure."

We both walked towards it and gripped the edges.

After a few heartfelt tugs, we managed to slide it out of the wall and onto the carpet.

The contents inside swilled around, and for one odd moment I though they were going to tip out onto the floor.

After a moment, though, they stilled and a blurry image appeared.

Harry and I both leaned in closer to take a look, still holding onto the edge of the pensieve, but were careful not to get too close – we didn't want to fall in, after all.

Our caution proved pointless, however, due to Ron rushing in, tripping over a piece of uprooted carpet, grabbing Harry and I round the necks to break his fall, which caused a huge burning sensation to rush through my body at least, and for all of us to topple forward, into the pensieve…


	26. Carpets, Lemon and Fire

**For Vicky**

_Dogs and Fire_

_Saints and Princes_

_Trios and Foursomes _

Can I just say that there is nothing more sickening than tumbling head first into a great big vat of nothingness?

Seriously.

If I'd had time to think about it, I would have thrown up.

As it was, I did not.

No, the thought running through my mind as I fell was: 'THIS IS BAD!"

We landed with a thud onto a softly carpeted floor that smelt oddly of Sherbert Lemons.

Lifting my head, I was relieved to see that we hadn't left Dumbledore's office – perhaps pensieves don't work anymore, once their owner has died.

But then reality kicked in, and I realised that, yes, we were still in Dumbledore's office, but not the present day one. No, we had clearly landed in a time before any of us had even _heard_ of Hogwarts.

The walls were painted differently, the carpet, I now realised, was not the same as the one we left, and the banner that hung above the Head Master's chair wished Hogwarts a 'Happy 1978!'

This was definitely _not_ good.

"Oh no," said Harry.

I looked round and saw him staring wide-eyed at the banner.

Ron was sat up next to him, looking at each of us in horror.

"I am _so_ sorry!" he said, looking mortified. "I didn't mean to do that! I just tripped and-"

Harry shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, mate. It could've happened to any of us-"

Well, no, not really…

"-In any case, it's not like we can't just get back out – right, Hermione?"

I turned to look at him so fast that I cricked my neck.

"Ow! And, what?! I don't know how to get out pensieves!!"

"WHAT?!" Harry and Ron both yelled, staring at me, once again, in horror.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" cried Harry, looking at me disbelievingly. "How can you not know?!"

"Because I am not a walking encyclopaedia!" I cried right back.

"Yes, you are!"

"Oh, so this is all my fault now, is it?" I shouted, starting to get angry.

"What?! No!"

"ENOUGH!"

Harry and I swung round to look at Ron, both in shock.

Check out _him_ being all authoritative!

"Look, Hermione, seriously – you really don't know how to get us back out of this?" he said quietly, staring at me intensely.

"Well, no…" I said, blushing. "I-I never thought to look. I just assumed that either the owner of the memory or the memory coming to an end would cause whoever fell into it to come back out again! And, although I have a good idea whose memory this may be, he's currently stuck in the late 20th Century, and we have _no_ idea how long this memory is. Basically, we're-"

"Screwed, right!" cut in Harry, shaking his head and getting angrily to his feet. "Well, this is bloody fantastic! If we get stuck in here, a. we will die, and, more importantly, b. Ginny will go spare!"

"Excuse me, Harry" said Ron angrily, also getting to his feet. "I have people in the future that care about me too, you know! Don't go making this all about you-"

"Well, to be honest, Ron, I think I've probably got more to worry about than you! My little boy's about to turn one years old! And who do you have? Oh, that's right – Lavender!"

"Why you little gi-"

"Alright, alright, woah!" I said hastily, standing between them, arms outstretched. "Let's get that testosterone back under control, shall we?"

Ron was practically snarling at Harry, and looked as though he wanted to rip his head off.

"Ron, please," I appealed to him. "Don't do this. We can't fight – not now."

I didn't think I'd gotten through to him, but, with one quick glance at me, he straightened up, and walked away, breathing hard.

Phew.

You know, I might have sounded firm, but, really, that was pretty scary – I mean, they're both _way_ heavier than me, and plus, I don't think I could've dealt with them falling out, again – Horcrux hunting, anyone?

Harry was glaring at Ron's back and looked like he was about to say something.

"Don't," I said to him quietly, before walking over to stand next to Ron.

I was kind of annoyed at him, too - I mean, _how_ inconsiderate?

And I'll have him know that, if he had actually been addressing that statement to me, I would have told him that I have got a very nice, gay-pretend-boyfriend, a love-triangle and an all-knowing best friend to go back to – why _wouldn't_ I want to leave?!

Aha.

"Ron, are you ok?" I said to him softly.

He jumped about a foot in the air, and looked round at me wildly.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

I smiled.

He smiled back.

It was practically a love-fest.

I'm joking, of course.

I turned back round to face Harry, who was glaring moodily at some random chimer thingy that was sat on... Dumbledore's, I assume, desk.

"Do you think we should try and get out of this office?" I asked him.

He shrugged.

"It's not like we can until someone opens the door – no one can see, or touch, us in here."

"Brilliant," I sighed. "What do we do then?"

He shrugged again.

"I don't know… wait?"

Ron and I both conceded that this was probably the best plan.

Really due to the fact that it was our _only_ plan.

Half an hour later, the office door swung open.

I felt Harry and Ron tense beside me, as we sat just behind the door, out of site of anyone's line of vision.

It had cushions, see?

We didn't get to see who it was, however.

We did hear them, though.

"Oh, of course!" cried the voice of Albus Dumbledore. "Oh, dear, dear, I must inform Minerva. Should have seen it before!"

He turned back around (I assume) and headed back down the spiralling staircase he had just come up.

Harry, Ron and I looked at each other, and then, without a word, jumped to our feet and raced out of the door Dumbledore had mercifully left open.

As we ran down the stairs, we could hear Dumbledore chortling to himself, the words 'Black' and 'Potter' just distinguishable.

I saw Ron grin at Harry.

I suddenly realised what we might get to see – Harry's dad, for, like, the first time ever!

Except for in photos, of course.

And Sirius when he was younger and, hopefully, less messed up!

And Lupin, too!

Ooh, and Harry's mum!!

My excitement was cut short as we had to practically dive between the stone gargoyles as they began sealing up the entrance.

We skidded through just in time, and heard the ominous clunk as they shut fast.

"Phew," said Ron, looking back at the gargoyles with his eyebrows raised. "Wouldn't have wanted to get trapped between them!"

Harry and I laughed, and we all started walking in the direction we were sure lead to the grand staircase.

After all, there was nothing blocking us until we reached the entrance hall, and we could just go check out the dungeons instead! And, you know, go and find Snape and see what he was getting up to.

Everything seemed almost normal, despite the fact that we were stuck in someone else's memory, with no idea how to get back out.

But if any of us had bothered to look behind us, we would have seen the gargoyles staring at us in shock.

And if we'd thought to look at our right wrist, we would've seen a very peculiar symbol appearing, etched in what looked like black ink.

But of course, we didn't.

No, we believed ourselves to be very safe.

It wasn't like anyone could hurt us.

Or so we thought, right up until the moment when I saw a very angry red head marching towards us, wand in hand.

"James Potter, where the _hell_ have you been?!"

Oh, dear…


	27. Red Heads, Mistakes, and Fear

_Exploding volcanoes_

_Rarely stop to check_

_That innocent people_

_Are not in the firing line_

Ron was laughing next to me.

"Brilliant! We can see Harry's parents have a fight!"

But I wasn't laughing. And nor was Harry.

Because he, like me, had realised: Lily Evans was yelling at _us_.

"Oh, so you think it's funny?!" she snarled at him, as she reached us, wand still outstretched.

Ron's grin vanished instantly.

"Holy shi-" he began, looking horrified.

"And who _are_ you, anyway?" she spat at him, two pretty spots of colour appearing on her cheeks.

Oh my god.

We weren't invisible!

Something had gone wrong! We hadn't just fallen into a memory – we'd become it!

"Well?" barked Lily at Ron, who was staring at her, aghast.

Fortunately, Harry stepped in to save him.

"Don't have a go at him, er, Evans! He's just messing around!"

"Messing around?!" cried Lily, looking even angrier as her gaze snapped onto Harry. "What, just like you were, you mean, when you said you'd meet me at midnight, and instead stood me up?!"

I sucked in my breath.

This was oh so very past bad! We'd gone and stumbled into the middle of a lover's quarrel, and Lily had inadvertently mistaken Harry for James!

We had to get him out of there, fast.

Otherwise we might have a Back to the Future situation on our hands!

"Look, Lily," I cut in, trying to act as peace-maker. "Harry – I mean _James_ – didn't mean to stand you up, he-"

"Who the hell are you?!" she shouted acidly at me, her eyes sweeping over my outfit, which I'd changed from pencil-skirt to jeans, blouse to polo-neck.

"I'm-," I began, but Lily cut over me.

"No, don't tell me – you're another one of James' skanks, used to make me jealous? Is that right, Potter?"

Me-ow!

Looks like Harry's dad was a bit of a lad-about-town!

"No way!" Harry was saying now, trying to play it cool. "She's with Ron, here."

Say _what_?!

Lily raised her eyebrows as I threw a murderous look at Harry.

"Oh, really?" she said sceptically, glaring at me.

"Yes, really," said Ron from Harry's other side, walking over to me and putting an arm round my shoulder. "Hermione and I are-""

"Oh, please," I said, ducking out from under his arm. "Finnigan, I've told you – I do not fancy you! And Potter, shut your mouth!"

I saw huge looks of confusion cross their faces.

But you see, I had my reasons for what I did.

Because I'd realised that Ron and I couldn't possibly keep up a charade of being a couple – we fought far too much. And if we were going to be in here a long time, it was better that we didn't add an in-trio-romance – it would all get far too complicated.

Plus, I thought that maybe I could perhaps get Lily on side by acting similarly hostile to Harry – after all, I know how it feels when a guy cough Ron cough messes you around. Maybe I could somehow get us out of this mess by empathising with her…

Oh, and my use of the name Finnigan? Well, I couldn't exactly call Ron 'Weasley', could I? Then there would be all these connections to the Weasley family, and that'd be _another_ problem we'd have to deal with, and I know that Seamus' dad's a muggle, so no fear of connections there.

Although given that it looks like Lavender is cheating on Ron with Seamus, it probably wasn't the _best_ of name choices…

Hey, I was under a lot of pressure!

"You know what, Lily," I said now, going over to stand next to her. "You're totally right. James, I know I said I'd cover for you, but, really, I can't just stand idly by and watch you and Ron put a load of stink bombs in the Slytherin Common Room."

I felt Lily tense beside me.

"Oh, James, you didn't!"

Harry was staring searchingly at me, trying to understand what on earth was going on.

"Potter!"

He jumped and looked round at his mum.

"What?!"

Lily glared at him.

"Did. You. Put. Stink. Bombs. In. The. Slytherin. Common. Room?" she growled slowly, articulating every word.

"Er…" he stammered, looking at me for help.

I inclined my head ever so slightly.

"Er, yeah… yeah, we did!" he said loudly, puffing out his chest. "Erm, Snape really annoyed me at dinner today, so I-"

"Oh, for God's sake!" yelled Lily, looking despairing, but at the same time really angry. "I thought we'd discussed this! You said you were going to lay off him!"

"No way!" burst out Ron, looking stunned. "Snape's a total git!"

I have never in my whole life seen anyone look as angry as Lily Evans did then.

"Alright, that's it!" she roared, moving forward and grabbing both Ron and Harry by the scruffs of their shirts. "You are _so_ going to Dumbledore for this!"

Ok, my plan had to been to go and see Dumbledore, but not with Lily in tow!

How on earth were we going to explain what was going on?

I mean, Lily seemed to hate James Potter's guts – how freaked would she be when she found out it was actually her _son_, whose father was James Potter, was the one who she'd been yelling at?!

No, there was no way we could talk to Dumbledore with her there.

Which is why I did what I did next…

"STUPEFY!"

The spell hit her in the back and she crumpled, pulling down Harry and Ron with her, which was actually a good thing, because they broke her fall, but they didn't see it like that…

"Hermione, what the _hell_ are you playing at?!" roared Ron angrily, disentangling himself from Lily and Harry, and getting back to his feet. "Are you trying to get us _killed_ or something?!"

"No," I said, my voice livid, "I am _trying_ to save our lives!"

"Oh, really?!" spat Harry, now also on his feet, staring at me incredulously. "By stunning my mum and turning against me and Ron?!

"By stopping an argument that could have escalated into a full-on duel, if we hadn't been careful!" I shouted back, my face turning red. "We had to get away from her, and it was the only plan I had! So sorry if your feelings were hurt, _Harry_, but it was the only thing I could do!"

And then I burst into tears.

Sad, I know, but I knew that we were in _big_ trouble, and that that tiny little altercation might have completely changed the future. Who knew what damage we'd already done, and we'd been there for less than an hour!

I said all this to Harry and Ron, and, thankfully, it seemed to have abated their anger.

"Oh, Hermione," said Harry, walking over to me and giving me a hug. "It'll be alright. It always is, right?"

I saw Ron glaring at his back and couldn't help laughing.

"Oh, Ron," I said, pulling away from Harry, and walking over to him and giving him a hug too.

I felt him completely tense as I put my arms round him, but then he relaxed and put his arms round me too.

It was really rather nice.

"Look, Hermione, I'm sure everything will work out fine," he said softly, squeezing me just a little tighter.

I pulled away from him and gave him a smile.

"Let's hope so."

A small cough behind us alerted us to the fact that Harry was still there.

I grinned and let go of Ron, before turning round to face him.

"Yes, _Potter_?" I teased.

"Oh, god, don't," he groaned, looking down at his unconscious mum. "You have no idea how creepy it was when she thought I was my dad. I thought she was going to go all Back to the Future on me…"

Which, as you know, was just what I'd been thinking.

Harry conjured up a stretcher and levitated his mum onto, whilst all the while Ron was going, "What are you two talking about? Back to the Future? Is that like an illness or something?"

Which was actually very funny, when you think that that's exactly what he said about 'Cinderella' all those years ago…

We made our way back to Dumbledore's office, Lily covered by Harry's invisibility cloak, and silently walked back up the stairs.

We listened to see if anyone was in Dumbledore's office (beside the man himself) and decided that there was not.

Ron carefully pushed open the door, and stepped aside so Harry could levitate Lily in first, and then let me through.

Harry lowered the stretcher Lily was on onto the floor and then pulled off the cloak covering her, just as Ron closed the door.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked us, looking around. "Wait for Dumbledore to get back?"

"Oh, I don't think there will be any need for that," a voice said from above us.

We all jumped and looked up to find Dumbledore stood at the top of a flight of stairs that hadn't been there when we went to Hogwarts, his wand drawn.

"I wondered when I'd be meeting you…"


	28. Angels, Imposters and Knowledge

You must sometimes wonder

**This, as you will soon find out, is a VERY short chapter, designed to be a filler, but also for me to say that there WILL be more, but, due to coursework and two week holidays, I will not post any more until mid-April, and hope that all you great people stick with me. Thank you very much :)**

_You must sometimes wonder_

_Why life_

_With Harry Potter_

_Is so damned complicated!_

We all froze, hearts thumping madly against our chests.

Well, ok, I don't if that's what was happening to Harry and Ron's hearts, but I certainly knew it was to mine!

It wasn't as though Dumbledore looked angry or frightening.

No.

It was the fact that, on more than one occasion, we'd witnessed him address all manner of villains, his face set exactly like it was now.

It was his calmness that filled me with fear.

He thought we were the enemy.

And I, for one, had no idea how to purge him of this idea.

I suppose, really, it was a good sign that he didn't trust us. We were, after all, three – well, two, if you counted the fact that Harry looked just like James – complete strangers, who had managed to get into Hogwarts with no hassle at all, when there were, no doubt, hundreds of jinxes set around the school, placed there in order to keep the darkness, that had already been present for nearly eight years, out. If Dumbledore hadn't been held us in any suspicion, he would not have been doing his job properly.

Of course, that was hardly a comfort to us.

"Bloody hell!"

I kicked Ron so hard in the leg that he nearly fell over.

"Ow! Hermione! What did you-ow!"

"Shut up!" I hissed at him, eyes wide with fear.

"But why did you-"

"I must say," mused Dumbledore, who still had his wand pointed at us, "That I have yet to come across any information regarding Death Eater named 'Hermione'. Unless, of course, you're new to the fold?"

"We're not death eaters!" said Harry, before I could stop him.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.

"Well of course you would claim that. Nobody, I am sure, would admit to being a murderer. Except in the case of remorse, I suppose…"

"We're not death eaters and we haven't murdered anyone," stated Harry hurriedly, his eyes pleading. "Please, Professor, you have to believe us. We don't wish to hurt anyone-"

"Aside from Miss Evans?" replied Dumbledore, his gaze sweeping over her lifeless form, and then flicking back to Harry.

"I-" he began guiltily, but Ron cut across him, "Hermione only stunned her because she was trying to put me and Harry in detention!"

"RON!" I roared, then clapped my hands over my mouth, instantly realising my mistake.

"Aha," said Dumbledore, with a smile. "So we have a Hermione, a Harry, and a Ron. Very interesting. I must say, young man," he added, indicating Ron, "You should, perhaps, not consider a career in the Auror department." To which Ron's face flushed instantly red.

And, I must say, I supported Dumbledore's words entirely – how could he be so _stupid_?!

I said those very words to him, adding, I'm afraid, a few colourful swear words.

"I didn't tell him our surnames!" he yelled back at me defensively. "It's not like I was all like: 'Hey, Professor Dumbledore, meet my friend, Harry Potter-'"

"NO!"

But it was too late; the damage was already done.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore didn't smile this time.

No, this time, he frowned, and repeated slowly, "'Potter'", as though wondering where he had heard the name before.

Meanwhile, Harry and I were shouting so angrily at Ron that he had actually taken a couple of steps back.

"Hasn't ANYTHING we've done in the past twelve years sunk in, Ron?!" yelled Harry, shaking his head furiously. "All the things we learned?!"

"Did you not even LISTEN to what me and Harry went through in third year when we saved Sirius' life?!" I added lividly, balling my hands into fists.

"The first rule of time travel is never to be seen by those in the past," said Dumbledore, who, unnoticed by the three of us, had lowered his wand.

"Exactly!" cried Harry and I in unison, and then gasped.

We spun round to look at Dumbledore, who was making his way down the stairs.

"How did you…?" whispered Harry, gaping at him.

Dumbledore sat himself down behind his desk, pressed his fingers together, looked over them at Harry, and then said, "I didn't have to. He," he nodded towards Ron, once again, "Made it very clear."

Harry and I glared angrily at Ron, who looked as though he were about to throw up.

I looked back round, and said to Dumbledore, "Sir, we aren't time travellers, we-"

"Miss... what is your second name?" Dumbledore interrupted me.

"Longbottom," I said automatically.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Now, Hermione, I think we both know that that isn't true – for one thing, I know for a fact that Frank Longbottom does not have any relations with the first name of 'Hermione'. For another, you said it far too quickly."

"Why is remembering your name immediately a sign that you're lying?" said Ron quickly, desperately trying to make up for his earlier mistakes.

"Because, no matter who we are, whenever we are asked what our name is, we do not immediately express, instead pausing, ever so slightly, to think about what it is. By saying it so quickly, it is a sure sign you are lying; in other words: you're trying too hard to convince that someone that you are not who you really are."

Ron just looked confused.

"So," said Dumbledore, looking at us almost curiously. "Why don't we start from the beginning; who are you, and why are you here?"

Harry, Ron and I glanced at each other.

Once again, we were faced with one of the most trickiest questions known to man: To tell the truth, or not to tell the truth?

That really _was_ the question…


	29. News, Information and Drama

Trying times

**This is a short filler, as you'll see, but the next chapter is waaaaaaaaaaayyy longer!**

**Sorry it's been so long, and thanks for staying with me!!:)**

_Trying times_

_Should always _

_Be faced_

_Alongside others_

I could tell, just from seeing Harry and Ron's faces, that they were thinking the same thing as I was: whichever option we chose to take, be it to tell the truth or lie, the situation we were currently in was unlikely to improve.

Inclining my head slightly, I said to Harry, "We may as well tell the truth: a lie wouldn't help us."

Harry nodded, as did Ron, who turned to Dumbledore and said, "Do you swear, if we tell you the truth, you won't try and alter any of the events we tell you about, even if the outcome is bad?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely.

"If you are, as I now believe you to be, time travellers, then I know of the many perils you face – especially as you have not exactly succeeded in keeping yourselves concealed."

"But that's just it, Sir," said Harry, almost desperately, "We didn't realise we _could_ be seen!"

Realising that random references to how and why we were there were not going to be understood by Dumbledore, I said politely, "Professor Dumbledore, would it be alright if we sat down? It might be easier to explain if we start from the beginning."

Dumbledore nodded again, and, with a wave of his wand, conjured up another two chairs, which flanked the one that was already sat opposite him.

Taking a seat each, Harry in the centre, Ron on his right and myself on his left, Harry pulled out the message from Snape and passed it to Dumbledore.

"We've come from a year in the late '90s," he began, watching Dumbledore intently for his reaction to this revelation. However, Dumbledore merely placed down the piece of paper, which I assumed he had read, and nodded his consent that Harry carried on with his story.

Acknowledging this cue, Harry continued, "Our real names are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. We've been the best of friends since we started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, twelve years ago. When we left, I became Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic, and, although Ron and Hermione don't work as Aurors full-time, they assist with cases from time to time. Over the past five years, we've been working on the case of a missing fugitive. I won't tell you his name," he added but Dumbledore did not seem to be upset by this gap in information.

"A wise decision," he smiled, motioning that Harry proceeded.

"Okay," said Harry, "But just so we don't get confused, we'll call him Ferret-"

Ron and I smiled.

"-Ferret was a… a user of the Dark Arts. His actions brought about the death of a great leader-"

I glanced at Dumbledore, to see if he had registered that Harry was talking about him, but, once again, he seemed unconcerned by the vagueness of Harry's allusions to people.

"-and, when the war between-"

Harry grimaced here, realising that the mentioning of Voldemort's name could result in a catastrophic change in the course of history.

"-between dark power and good power," he settled with, "Ferret ran away, whilst the rest of those who used dark power were imprisoned and punished accordingly. Anyway, the Ministry of Magic were concerned with the safety issues this situation presented and so we were assigned the task of trying to find him. However, it proved a much harder task than we could ever have anticipated and it wasn't until a few months ago that a good lead was finally found. We believed that an Unbreakable Vow made between Ferret's mother and another man, Bat, could be the answer to why it was proving so difficult to locate Ferret. We visited Bat, who went mad during the war, and asked him a few questions. He attacked Hermione, but as he did so, he recited this," Harry indicated the paper lying in front of Dumbledore, "Riddle. After a while, Hermione managed to decipher what she believed to be its meaning and it led us to Hogwarts. We found a pensieve there, much to our surprise. As Hermione and I were examining it, Ron came rushing in-"

I saw Harry's shoulder sag slightly as Ron turned red.

I merely rolled my eyes.

"-tripped over a piece of uprooted carpet and crashed into us. We all fell into the pensieve and landed in your office about an hour ago, around twenty years in the past and without a clue how to get back out. Assuming it was a memory, we waited until someone opened the door and then followed them out. Thinking we were invisible, which, in all my experiences of being in a pensieve memory, is normally what happens, we came across Lily-"

We all, including Dumbledore, looked over at Lily, who was still laying on the floor, stunned.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I picked up the story from Harry and said, "And Lily, thinking Harry was _James_ Potter, due to the resemblance, started arguing with him. I had to stun her because I knew we needed to talk to you – something had gone wrong when we fell into the pensieve and we needed your help. When we were at Hogwarts, Sir, you were a great leader and knew of many different types of magic – perhaps you could help us to determine what kind of magic Harry, Ron and I are encountering now?"

Dumbledore surveyed me with fingers pressed together as he digested all of the information we had surrendered to him.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably mere minutes, he spoke.

"This… situation we find ourselves in is, if I am to be honest, not one I have ever heard of or encountered. In the case of time turners, perhaps this state of affairs would be understandable. In the case of a pensieve, however… by law, this should never have happened. Of course, this does not make your circumstance any less grave. I would suggest that the three of you-"

But we never did hear what Dumbledore's suggestion was, as at that point the door to the office opened and four disgruntled looking seventh years entered, at the forefront a boy with messy, jet-black hair…

It was as though someone _wanted_ us to change the future!


End file.
